A few years ago, “interim” in legal staffing usually meant one thing: a maternity or paternity leave cover or a temporary gap while a firm ran a partner search.
That’s changed.
Across firms and corporate legal departments alike, we’re seeing a steady increase in demand for attorneys on a project basis, fractional general counsel arrangements, and secondees who slot into a team for months at a time rather than years. What used to be the exception is increasingly part of how legal organizations plan their workforce.
Why This Is Happening Now
Part of this is economic caution. Adding a permanent headcount, especially at the senior associate or counsel level, is a long-term commitment with real downside if workload shifts or a practice area cools off. Many organizations have gotten more comfortable bringing in experienced talent for the duration of a specific need: a litigation surge, a regulatory filing season, an M&A integration, a system implementation that requires dedicated legal support.
Part of it is a shift in what attorneys themselves want. A growing number of experienced lawyers, particularly those later in their careers, or those who’ve stepped away from a traditional firm track, are actively choosing project-based work. They want the variety, the flexibility, or simply a different relationship to the billable hour than a permanent role offers.
What This Looks Like in Practice
We’re seeing this play out in a few recurring patterns:
Fractional general counsel for companies that have outgrown relying entirely on outside counsel but aren’t ready (or don’t need) a full-time GC. An experienced attorney comes in for a set number of hours or days per week, providing the oversight and judgment a growing company needs without the cost of a full executive hire.
Secondees placed directly inside a client’s legal department for the length of a specific initiative like a major contract renegotiation, a compliance overhaul, a litigation matter that needs dedicated attention without pulling existing staff off their regular workload.
Project-based associates and counsel brought in by firms to handle a defined workstream: due diligence for a transaction, document-heavy discovery, or a regulatory deadline that’s created a temporary capacity crunch.
A Word of Caution
None of this means interim talent is a substitute for getting permanent hiring right. Project-based arrangements work best when the need genuinely is temporary or project-bound. When organizations start using interim placements to avoid making a real decision about a permanent role, letting a critical position sit open indefinitely while “temporary” coverage stretches on, that’s usually a sign of a deeper hiring hesitation that interim staffing won’t resolve.
Whether you’re facing a near-term capacity crunch, considering a fractional general counsel arrangement, or trying to figure out whether a role calls for a permanent hire or interim support, the calculation depends heavily on what’s actually available in the market and that’s where having a recruiting partner who tracks both permanent and project-based talent pays off.
If you’re weighing your options for an upcoming need, contact 3D Tek to talk through what makes sense for your team.
We are a boutique search firm providing exceptional executive and professional talent to our clients and helping talented experts achieve their career goals.
3D Tek provides executive search for legal and technology leaders. We help organizations hire the right talent, the first time, with a focus on long-term retention and cultural alignment.