Tips to Get Remote Legal Research Jobs

Legal writing is a branch of freelance writing that deals with producing content for legal purposes. The content in legal writing ranges from legal newsletters, web content, legal blogs, attorney profiles, and brochures.

Although it is less popular than technical writing, it ranks among the most lucrative freelance writing fields. Read on to discover the tips to start legal content writing and identify the major types of legal content.

Legal Writer Job Description

Like other fields, legal writing encompasses multiple fields that you can pursue when starting your journey as a legal copywriter. The major types of legal writing include:

• Web writers – These legal writing jobs involve researching, writing, and editing web content for law firms and law-oriented blogs.
• Legal analysts – a freelance legal writer who analyzes news and proceedings for online legal information vendors.
• Brief writers – this niche involves the creation of content for corporations and law firms to explain why one party should prevail over the other. Brief writers thus require a deep understanding of the laws of various fields and a deep analysis of the case to support the legal team in making a rational argument.
• Corporate writers – Are tasked with producing a wide range of materials to address the public and analyze various operations within companies.
• Legal editors – Are responsible for proofreading legal documents to ensure clarity and correctness of the information.

Requirements for becoming a legal copywriter

Owing to the complexity of legal writing, many employers reserve legal content writing jobs for law graduates. As such, a bachelor’s degree in a law-related field or a certification in a specific legal writing area are added benefits.

However, the major skills for legal writings include the ability to communicate clearly and perform thorough research. Some of the necessary skills for legal writers include:

• Research – A freelance legal writer should address a topic from multiple perspectives and retrieve relevant information regarding the topic. The writer should also be able to organize their work logically and balance the facts and law.
• Clear communication – Clear communication is key for legal documents. Your work should properly punctuate and written without fallacies, thus avoiding miscommunication.
• Attention to detail – Legal writing requires keen attention to major details and proper scrutiny of evidence without the influence of emotions.

How much do legal writers earn?

The annual salary for legal writers averages at $44,589. However, the prices are lower for novice writers when compared to expert writers with great exposure to the market.

Tips to start a legal writing career

Although the demand for legal writers is projected to increase with time, the competition makes it hard for entry-level writers to penetrate the market. When starting as a writer, it is essential to master various marketing skills.

Some of the tips to get you into legal writing for lawyers are:

• Network with people who have exposure to writing opportunities. These people connect you with prospects and could also mentor you in your selected field.
• Create a portfolio to showcase your writing skills and feature reviews from previous clients. This will help to build credibility with prospects, making it easy to land new projects.
• Cold pitch to clients and legal writing firms.
• Enroll on a writing platform and bid for legal writing jobs that are relevant to your skillset.

Final Take

There’s more to legal writing than mastering how to write like a lawyer. This article should help you start your legal writing career and secure regular writing gigs.