Post job

What does a contract attorney do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does a contract attorney do

A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency. Contract attorneys represent clients at court, assist with law proceedings, and advise clients for the necessary legal procedures. A contract attorney must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to manage client legal matters and expertise in traditional disciplines and processes.

On this page

Contract attorney responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real contract attorney resumes:

  • Conduct first-level document review, QC review, and privilege review for complex residential mortgage-backed securities litigation.
  • Experience in e-discovery document review teams assessing responsiveness in second requests, pharmaceutical litigation/product liability cases and patent infringement suits.
  • Consult with law firms regarding deposition and hearing preparations and provide other litigation support services for various banking and pharmaceutical antitrust matters
  • Remove confidential personal information and HIPAA.
  • Prepare deposition files, write pleadings, subpoenas and participate in other discovery-relate projects.
  • Privilege log line writing and privilege QC in large-scale anti-trust litigation/investigation of several private equity firms.
  • Assist international pharmaceutical company with proactive review focuse on compliance and potential violation of the FCPA.
  • Assist with discovery in litigation by analyzing documents for responsiveness and client attorney privilege utilizing Ringtail and V3locity software.
  • Conduct document review involving the review of corporations' internal compliance with multiple federal government agencies in anticipation of litigation.
  • Document review re: responsiveness and privilege for investment fund involve in emergency arbitration relate to financial management and capitalization.
  • Contract attorney for commercial arbitration involving breach of contract and relate claims arising from motion picture financing and distribution agreements.
  • Review documents for privilege, responsiveness, sensitivity and other characteristics in response to discovery requests, internal requests and subpoenas.
  • Work on FTC second request for document production in an anti-trust investigation.
  • Conduct extensive document review for fact finding in anti-trust cases and FTC investigations.
  • Project utilize relativity e-discovery software.

Contract attorney skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Contract Attorneys are proficient in Litigation, E-Discovery, and Legal Research. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Contract Attorneys that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Litigation, 23%

    Conducted document review involving the review of corporations' internal compliance with multiple federal government agencies in anticipation of litigation.

  • E-Discovery, 11%

    Project utilized relativity e-discovery software.

  • Legal Research, 7%

    Assisted in all aspects of corporate litigation including drafting discovery, performing legal research, reviewing voluminous documents and preparation of pleadings

  • Legal Issues, 4%

    Researched and wrote memorandum analyzing legal issues with disassociating from a limited liability company under the Florida Revised Limited LiabilityCompany Act.

  • Real Estate, 3%

    Provided electronic discovery and pretrial litigation services for multiple legal projects in the commercial litigation and real estate practice areas.

  • Intellectual Property, 3%

    Reviewed documents for the purpose of providing discovery responses in litigation arising out of an intellectual property dispute using Concordance software.

"litigation," "e-discovery," and "legal research" are among the most common skills that contract attorneys use at work. You can find even more contract attorney responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a contract attorney to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Contract attorneys often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "analyze and classify key documents and other relevant data through e-discovery and document review projects in complex civil litigation. "

Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling contract attorney duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community." According to a contract attorney resume, here's how contract attorneys can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of contract attorneys is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday contract attorney duties, as "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "researched and recommended alternative dispute resolution options, which encompassed mediation and arbitration. "

Research skills. For certain contract attorney responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "research skills." The day-to-day duties of a contract attorney rely on this skill, as "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what contract attorneys do: "researched and analyzed defenses for architectural barriers and accessibility claims in ada litigation. "

See the full list of contract attorney skills

Choose from 10+ customizable contract attorney resume templates

Build a professional contract attorney resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your contract attorney resume.
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume
Contract Attorney Resume

Compare different contract attorneys

Contract attorney vs. Legal extern

Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.

The annual salary of legal externs is $50,236 lower than the average salary of contract attorneys.Even though contract attorneys and legal externs are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require litigation, legal research, and legal issues in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between contract attorneys and legal extern. For instance, contract attorney responsibilities require skills such as "e-discovery," "privilege logs," "qc," and "product liability." Whereas a legal extern is skilled in "legal intern," "legal memos," "pre-trial motions," and "powerpoint." This is part of what separates the two careers.

On average, legal externs reach similar levels of education than contract attorneys. Legal externs are 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 38.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Contract attorney vs. Bankruptcy specialist

The bankruptcy specialist is responsible for filing and documentation loan bankruptcy materials with the appropriate attorneys. They ensure full compliance with loan bankruptcy regulations and monitor accounts throughout the loan bankruptcy process to contact the appropriate party when necessary. A bankruptcy specialist might be an administrator or lawyer in a bankruptcy office and supports bankruptcy law. They are likely to evaluate state declaration and affidavits for legal progression, interact with customers and outside counsel about bankruptcy proceedings through written and verbal communication, and work with local counsel and upper management in effectively reviewing client's files.

On average, bankruptcy specialists earn a $61,976 lower salary than contract attorneys a year.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that contract attorney responsibilities requires skills like "e-discovery," "legal research," "legal issues," and "real estate." But a bankruptcy specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Bankruptcy specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than contract attorneys. In fact, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 38.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Contract attorney vs. Assistant counsel

Assistant counsels are legal professionals who research and analyze various laws so they can apply them to the different legal issues that arose in a corporation. These counsels must develop an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage responses to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants. They advise other departments for legal claims related to the right of privacy and publicity as well as defamation. Assistant counsels are also required to act as labor attorneys for employees facing internal discrimination suits while dealing with FMLA, ERISA, and HIPAA issues.

On average scale, assistant counsels bring in lower salaries than contract attorneys. In fact, they earn a $36,245 lower salary per year.By looking over several contract attorneys and assistant counsels resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "litigation," "legal research," and "legal issues." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, contract attorneys are more likely to have skills like "e-discovery," "due diligence," "privilege logs," and "juris." But a assistant counsel is more likely to have skills like "strong work ethic," "excellent organizational," "mental health," and "human resources."

Most assistant counsels achieve a similar degree level compared to contract attorneys. For example, they're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 39.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Contract attorney vs. General counsel

A general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.

General counsels tend to earn a higher pay than contract attorneys by an average of $27,774 per year.According to resumes from contract attorneys and general counsels, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "litigation," "legal research," and "legal issues. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between contract attorneys and general counsels, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a contract attorney might have more use for skills like "e-discovery," "real estate," "privilege logs," and "qc." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of general counsels require skills like "risk management," "ethics," "human resources," and "legal support. "

The average resume of general counsels showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to contract attorneys. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 14.1%.

Types of contract attorney

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.