News Center: Blogs & Publications

Alumnae Give a New Twist to the Contract Lawyer Model

SAN DIEGO (August 9, 2011)— In 2009, University of San Diego School of Law alumnae Laurie Rowen, ’04, and Erin Giglia, ’01, founded Montage Legal Group—a network of freelance attorneys based in Irvine, Calif. Offering a new twist on the contract lawyer model, the Montage Legal Group created a network of 24 lawyers, all of whom hail from formidable law firms. But instead of reporting to their law firm office every day, Montage attorneys conduct substantive legal work virtually for both Montage and their own clients.

Founders Rowen and Giglia were recently profiled by the ABA Journal:

“It’s mostly mothers who are attracted to this arrangement,” says Rowen. “About 15 are new mothers who came directly from a law firm or in-house. We anticipate in about five years, when their kids are in kindergarten, they’ll want to go to a firm.”

“We hope having Montage [on their resumé] will show they’ve been working and help them get a job,” she says. “That’s better than a staffing agency, where your name is hidden and you have nothing on your resumé."

Click here to read to the entire story.