Capacity crunch at your law firm: project lawyers, freelancers or secondees?

Short answer: A law firm facing a capacity crunch has three options: project lawyers through temporary agency work or staff leasing, freelance lawyers with their own admission, or direct fixed-term employment. The key limit applies in Germany: a lawyer placed with a firm through Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (German temporary agency work) may not act externally as an attorney, while back-office work is unobjectionable under professional rules (Federal Court of Justice, judgment of 20 March 2023, AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21). Anyone who signs briefs or represents clients therefore needs a different model.

This guide is for partners, practice group leads and firm management in Germany and Switzerland. It sets out the flexible lawyer options a law firm has when capacity runs short, where the professional rules draw the line, and how liability, confidentiality and conflicts of interest are handled.

When law firms need additional capacity

Law firms usually need extra capacity when a matter suddenly generates volume that the existing team cannot absorb alongside ongoing work. Typical triggers:

• Transactions: due diligence, contract analysis, data room review and disclosure letters on a tight timetable.
• Disputes: mass claims, arbitrations with large case files, regulatory requests.
• Document review: internal investigations, eDiscovery and production requests involving thousands of documents.
• Regulatory projects for clients: contract remediation, inventories and gap analyses, for example on DORA, NIS2 or the EU AI Act.
• Staffing gaps: parental leave, maternity leave, resignations or whole teams moving on.

Two questions drive the choice of model: does the person need to act externally, and who directs the substance of the work?

The models compared

The models differ mainly in external representation and liability. The table shows the differences for Germany and Switzerland.

Project lawyers through temporary agency work or staff leasing

Project lawyers placed through temporary agency work or staff leasing suit large, well-structured workloads led by the firm. The person is employed by the provider but works under the firm's professional instructions and in its systems.

Germany: the AÜG rules

• The contract must expressly designate the arrangement as Arbeitnehmerüberlassung and name the individual before the assignment (Section 1(1) sentences 5–6 AÜG, German Temporary Agency Work Act).
• Maximum assignment with the same hirer: 18 consecutive months (Section 1(1b) AÜG).
• Equal pay applies in principle from day one, measured against comparable permanent staff of the firm (Section 8(1) AÜG). Who is comparable depends on the actual work, not the job title; for pure back-office work, employed project lawyers are an example. Collective agreements may deviate on pay for no more than 9 months, or up to 15 months under a sector supplement agreement (Section 8(4) AÜG).
• The firm must bind project lawyers to confidentiality in text form and inform them of the criminal consequences of a breach (Section 43a(2) sentences 4 and 6 BRAO; Section 203(4) StGB).

Switzerland: Personalverleih

In Switzerland, the provider needs a cantonal licence (Art. 12 AVG, Swiss Recruitment Act). There is no statutory maximum assignment period. Criminal professional secrecy covers lawyers and their auxiliaries (Art. 321 Swiss Criminal Code). The law does not expressly say whether a leased project lawyer counts as an auxiliary; the firm should therefore bind them to confidentiality by contract in any event.

How to set up a large review project is covered in the guide document review for law firms.

Freelance lawyers: admission, insurance, conflicts

Freelance lawyers are the right choice when the person needs to act externally, sign briefs or attend hearings. The Federal Court of Justice expressly names independent contractor work and sub-mandates as a self-employed lawyer as alternatives to agency work (margin no. 75). Three points need to be settled:

• Admission and insurance: admitted lawyers in Germany must maintain professional indemnity insurance (Section 51 BRAO). Ask for proof of admission and cover.
• Conflicts of interest: a lawyer may not act if they have already advised or represented another client with conflicting interests in the same matter (Section 43a(4) BRAO). In Switzerland, avoiding conflicts is one of the professional rules (Art. 12(c) BGFA, Swiss Lawyers Act). The conflict check must include the freelancer's earlier mandates.
• Status: where a freelancer is integrated and works under instruction, German law may treat the arrangement as employment (Section 7(1) SGB IV). The German Pension Insurance can determine status on application, including before work starts (Section 7a(4a) SGB IV). See the guide engaging freelance lawyers safely.

Under freelancing, the professional works independently within the agreed mandate. The model is described on the page freelancing for legal and compliance.

Secondment the other way round: when clients need capacity

In a secondment, the firm sends one of its own lawyers to a client's legal department for a set period. It strengthens the relationship but takes capacity out of the firm.

In Germany, a secondment can legally amount to temporary agency work if the person is integrated at the client and follows its instructions. The AÜG exempts occasional placements of employees who were not hired for the purpose of being placed (Section 1(3) no. 2a AÜG). Whether a specific secondment falls under this exemption depends on how often the firm places staff and whether the person was hired for the purpose of being placed.

An alternative: if the client needs extra capacity for weeks or months, it can bring in interim professionals directly. The firm stays responsible for legal advice without pulling its own associates.

German law: the Federal Court of Justice on admission of leased project lawyers

On 20 March 2023, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) held that a fully qualified lawyer placed with a law firm by a non-lawyer staffing provider, who is to act externally as an attorney there, cannot be admitted to the bar (AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21). The key points:

• The employer is the provider: in temporary agency work, the provider as contracting party is the employer within the meaning of Section 46 BRAO, not the firm (margin nos. 35, 53).
• No admission as attorney: the ground for refusal based on incompatibility applies (Section 7 sentence 1 no. 8 BRAO).
• No admission as in-house attorney (Syndikusrechtsanwalt): the leased lawyer does not work on legal matters of their employer (margin nos. 52–53).
• Back office remains possible: work without an external attorney role is unobjectionable under professional rules (margin no. 75).

In practice, project lawyers on agency assignments review, research and draft. Signing, sending and representing are done by the firm's admitted lawyers. For lawyers who are already admitted, Section 14(2) no. 8 BRAO provides for revocation of admission where they pursue an incompatible activity; this is the same test as the ground for refusal the BGH relied on (Section 7 sentence 1 no. 8 BRAO). Admitted lawyers should therefore clarify an agency assignment with their bar association in advance. In-house attorney status is covered in the guide Staff leasing of lawyers: what applies in Switzerland and Germany.

Switzerland: bar register, professional secrecy and interim lawyers

Switzerland has no decision equivalent to the BGH judgment; the framework follows from the Lawyers Act. To be entered in the cantonal bar register, employed lawyers must work for persons who are themselves registered (Art. 8(1)(d) BGFA). On the wording, a project lawyer employed by a staffing provider is employed by an unregistered employer and therefore cannot be registered; we are not aware of a decision on this.

• Interim lawyers in Swiss firms therefore usually work without appearing as registered lawyers in their own right.
• Professional secrecy applies without time limit and towards everyone (Art. 13 BGFA). The firm should expressly bind interim lawyers to it.
• Freelance lawyers with their own register entry act in their own name and carry the professional duties under Art. 12 BGFA.

Limits and risks

• Alpinum Solutions provides law firms with project lawyers through staff leasing and freelancing, part-time or full-time, as individuals or teams. Alpinum is not a law firm and takes on no mandates; responsibility towards the client stays with the firm.
• If a project lawyer on an agency assignment is in fact used externally, a professional-conduct risk arises. Roles and signing rules belong in the written assignment plan.
• Conflict checks and confidentiality are duties of the firm. They cannot be shifted to the provider.

Frequently asked questions on law firm capacity

May a project lawyer sign briefs?

Not in Germany if placed through temporary agency work. Following the Federal Court of Justice judgment of 20 March 2023, acting externally is incompatible with the status of a leased lawyer. They can draft briefs, but an admitted lawyer of the firm must sign. If the person is to sign themselves, they should be engaged as a freelance lawyer with their own admission or directly employed by the firm on a fixed-term basis.

Who checks conflicts of interest?

The firm. It asks about the person's earlier mandates, employers and interests and checks them against its conflicts database. For freelance lawyers, their own conflict rules under Section 43a(4) BRAO or Art. 12(c) BGFA also apply. A provider can collect and pass on information, but the decision stays with the firm.

Does the German BGH judgment apply in Switzerland?

No. The judgment concerns German professional law, the BRAO. In Switzerland the framework follows from the Lawyers Act: registered lawyers may only be employed by registered persons (Art. 8(1)(d) BGFA). In practice, leased lawyers in Swiss firms also usually do not appear as registered lawyers.

How quickly can extra capacity be built up?

At Alpinum, selected profiles are usually available within 48 hours; the firm and Alpinum agree the start date together. The actual start usually depends on the conflict check, contracts, confidentiality undertakings and system access. These steps should run in parallel with the selection.

What does a project lawyer cost?

At Alpinum, day rates for staff leasing in Germany are EUR 480–720 for junior profiles (0–2 years) and EUR 960–1,440+ for senior profiles (7+ years); freelance rates are higher. In Switzerland they are CHF 600–800 (junior) and CHF 1,200–1,800+ (senior). All figures exclude VAT, as of 18 October 2026. The calculation method is set out in the cost guide for interim legal and compliance.

Next step

Describe scope, timetable and role, in particular whether the person needs to act externally. The right model follows from that.

• Project lawyers for law firms
• Document review for law firms: staffing, process and quality
• Freelancing for legal and compliance
• Discuss your needs

Last updated: 30 October 2026.