Freelance, staff leasing or secondment? Choosing the right model for interim lawyers

Short answer: Whether an interim lawyer should work freelance or via staff leasing comes down to one question: who directs the work? If your company gives professional instructions and the lawyer is embedded in your team, staff leasing fits. If the lawyer delivers a defined mandate on their own responsibility, freelancing fits. In Germany, staff leasing to the same client is capped at 18 months (§ 1(1b) AÜG); Swiss staff leasing law sets no statutory maximum.

This guide is for general counsel, heads of legal and HR leaders in Switzerland and Germany who need to fill a gap in the legal team temporarily. It compares freelance vs staff leasing, secondment and service or work contracts by control, employer, licence, duration and risk.

Who directs the work? The test behind every model

The right of instruction and integration into your organisation decide the model, not the contract title. German law defines staff leasing by integration and instructions (§ 1(1) sentence 2 AÜG, the German Temporary Agency Work Act). Swiss law looks at whether essential powers of instruction pass to the client (Art. 26 AVV, the Swiss Recruitment Ordinance). In Germany, where contract and practice differ, actual practice prevails (§ 12(1) AÜG).

• Your team sets tasks, priorities and deadlines: staff leasing.
• The professional delivers a defined result and organises their own work: freelancing.
• A law firm lends you one of its own lawyers: secondment.
• A provider owes a deliverable and manages its own people: service or work contract.

Staff leasing: Arbeitnehmerüberlassung in Germany, Personalverleih in Switzerland

In staff leasing, the professional is employed by the staffing provider and works under your professional instructions inside your team. The provider pays salary and social security; you direct the work.

Germany

• The provider needs a licence from the Federal Employment Agency (§ 1(1) sentence 1 AÜG).
• The contract must expressly describe the arrangement as Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (German temporary agency work), and the individual must be named before the assignment starts (§ 1(1) sentences 5–6 AÜG).
• Maximum of 18 consecutive months with the same client; assignments separated by three months or less are added together (§ 1(1b) AÜG).
• Equal pay applies in principle from day one; collective agreements may deviate on pay for a maximum of 9 months, or up to 15 months under a sector supplement agreement (§ 8(1), (4) AÜG).
• A provider based in Switzerland cannot obtain a German licence (§ 3(2) AÜG). Assignments in Germany need a provider based in Germany or the EU/EEA.

Switzerland

• Anyone leasing staff on a commercial basis needs a cantonal licence, plus a licence from SECO (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) for leasing abroad (Art. 12 AVG, the Swiss Recruitment Act).
• Leasing staff from abroad into Switzerland is not permitted (Art. 12(2) AVG).
• The AVG sets no statutory maximum assignment period.
• The employment contract and the leasing contract must be in writing with mandatory content (Art. 19, 22 AVG).

For assignments in Germany, Alpinum Solutions uses its German company, Alpinum Solutions GmbH, which holds a licence for temporary agency work from the Hesse Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency. In Switzerland, Alpinum holds the cantonal licence and the SECO licence for staff leasing abroad. More detail on both countries is in Staff leasing of lawyers: what applies in Switzerland and Germany.

Freelancing: a self-directed mandate

In freelancing, the professional works independently and on their own responsibility within an agreed mandate. You do not instruct them on how to do the work; you define the goal, scope and deliverable.

• Good fit: defined projects such as a contract review, a data protection assessment or setting up a compliance process.
• Poor fit: covering a position with line duties, fixed office hours and inclusion in team planning.
• Germany: if the person is in fact bound by instructions and integrated, this points to employment for social security purposes (§ 7(1) SGB IV); the overall assessment decides. The German Pension Insurance (DRV) decides status on application in a status determination procedure (§ 7a SGB IV).
• Switzerland: the AHV compensation office assesses self-employment case by case and separately for each activity. Economic reality counts, not the contract (AHV/IV information sheet 2.02).

For freelance lawyers in Germany who are not admitted to the bar, the Legal Services Act (RDG) also applies: a legal service is any activity in specific matters of others that requires a legal assessment of the individual case, and providing it independently is only permitted where a statute allows it (§§ 2(1), 3 RDG). Freelance mandates that involve legal advice in Germany are therefore mainly a matter for admitted lawyers; without bar admission, tasks that involve no legal assessment of individual cases, or staff leasing, are the better fit. How to reduce status risk is covered in Engaging freelance lawyers safely.

Secondment from a law firm: when it pays off

In a secondment, a law firm lends one of its own lawyers to a client for a few weeks or months. The lawyer stays employed by the firm and works alongside the company's team.

• Advantage: the secondee knows the firm, its templates and often the client. That helps on a live transaction or dispute the firm is already handling.
• Drawback: the choice is limited to one firm's lawyers, and availability depends on the firm's own workload.
• Legal classification: if the secondee works integrated and under the company's instructions, this can count as temporary agency work in Germany and as staff leasing in Switzerland (§ 1(1) AÜG; Art. 26 AVV). In Germany, the AÜG largely does not apply if leasing between employers is only occasional and the person was not hired for the purpose of being leased (§ 1(3) no. 2a AÜG). In Switzerland, only commercial leasing requires a licence, meaning more than 10 leasing contracts in 12 months with intent to make a profit, or at least CHF 100,000 annual turnover from leasing (Art. 12 AVG, Art. 29 AVV). The law firm should clarify in advance whether a specific secondment falls under these rules.

Options for law firms themselves are covered in Law firm capacity: project lawyers, freelancers or secondment.

Service and work contracts: when they suit legal work

A service or work contract (Dienstvertrag or Werkvertrag) only fits if the provider manages its own people and you do not instruct individuals. A typical case is a clearly scoped package, such as migrating contracts into a new system under the provider's own project lead.

The risk lies in practice. If your team assigns tasks directly to the individuals and schedules them like staff, under German law this points to agency work regardless of the contract title (§ 1(1) sentence 2, § 12(1) AÜG). A provider's "standby licence" does not help, because the arrangement must be expressly labelled beforehand (§ 1(1) sentence 5 AÜG). The result can be an employment relationship between your company and the individual (§§ 9, 10 AÜG).

Switzerland and Germany compared in one table

The table sets out the differences against the criteria that decide the model in practice.

Alpinum Solutions provides legal and compliance professionals through staff leasing and freelancing, part-time or full-time, as individuals or teams, from junior to senior level. The client directs the engagement: in staff leasing through professional instructions, in freelancing through the agreed mandate.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

1. Scheduling freelancers like staff: fixed hours, line duties and team meetings point to employment. If you want to direct the work this way, choose staff leasing.
2. Labelling the contract wrongly: in Germany, the contract must expressly name the arrangement as agency work and identify the individual before the assignment (§ 1(1) sentences 5–6 AÜG).
3. Overlooking the 18 months: earlier assignments of the same person with you count, even through another provider, if the gap was three months or less (§ 1(1b) sentence 2 AÜG).
4. Using a Swiss provider for Germany: this cannot be licensed under § 3(2) AÜG. Conversely, a foreign provider may not lease staff into Switzerland (Art. 12(2) AVG).
5. Not checking the licence: ask to see it. In Switzerland, SECO keeps a public register of licensed staffing providers.

Limits and risks

• Alpinum Solutions provides professionals and managers and is not a law firm. Responsibility for decisions and for the legal function stays with your company.
• Formal roles such as data protection officer, compliance officer with regulatory responsibility or MLRO are possible in both models. For the MLRO, regulatory rules may rule out an external mandate or require staff leasing.

FAQ: freelance, staff leasing and secondment

Can a freelancer take on a formal role?

Yes, in principle, for example as data protection officer or compliance officer. An external data protection officer under a service contract is expressly allowed in the EU (Art. 37(6) GDPR). For a money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), regulatory rules may exclude an external mandate or require staff leasing. Clarify this with your supervisor and internal rules before the engagement starts.

Is there a maximum duration for staff leasing in Switzerland?

No. The Swiss Recruitment Act (AVG) and its ordinance (AVV) set no statutory maximum assignment period. For open-ended assignments, shorter notice periods apply in the first six months: 2 days in months one to three and 7 days in months four to six (Art. 19(4) AVG). Germany, by contrast, applies an 18-month limit under § 1(1b) AÜG.

When does a secondment make sense?

A secondment makes sense when a law firm is already handling a matter and one of its lawyers should continue the work inside the company, for example during a transaction. For covering a position or a longer capacity gap, the pool is often too narrow. Agree beforehand who gives instructions and whether the firm needs a licence for the arrangement.

Is freelancing more expensive than staff leasing?

In Germany, Alpinum's freelance ranges are higher. An experienced profile (3–6 years) costs EUR 720–960 per day in staff leasing and EUR 960–1,360 in freelancing, excluding VAT, as of 18 October 2026. In Switzerland, Alpinum does not split ranges by model: experienced profiles are CHF 800–1,200 per day.

Can a Swiss staffing provider lease lawyers to Germany?

No. A German agency work licence must be refused where the leasing is carried out from establishments outside the EU/EEA (§ 3(2) AÜG); the Federal Employment Agency treats it as prohibited without exception. Assignments in Germany need a provider based in Germany or the EU/EEA with its own licence.

Next step

Describe the task, workload, duration and who should direct the work. That points to the right model. Shortlisted profiles are usually available within 48 hours; the start date is agreed between the client and Alpinum.

• Staff leasing for legal and compliance
• Freelance lawyers and compliance experts
• Avoiding false self-employment with freelance lawyers
• Discuss your requirements

Last updated: 30 October 2026.