Lawyers planning to FIRE: have you considered Axiom? (project-based/remote work)

[CloserToFree]

Lawyer friends out there - has anyone considered or gone to work for Axiom (http://www.axiomlaw.com/)?  They're an alternative firm that basically staffs senior-level attorneys on secondments in-house for discrete periods of time - like 6 or 9 months.  From what I understand, the pay is pretty good and comparable to an in-house job (around $200k).  But what I love about the model is you can do say a 9 month assignment, and then take a bunch of time off (to travel, be with family, pursue side interests) before you accept your next gig with them.  Seems like the ideal thing for those of us considering retiring early who don't necessarily care that you're not working towards some future something at one firm or company.  The work itself probably isn't as interesting as big firm work on a day to day basis, but I'd probably be OK with that if the tradeoff is the ability to take long chunks of time off for vacations/travel/etc. in between projects.  Apparently you're often functioning like an assistant general counsel in many of the roles, so it's not like you're doing grunt work or anything.  And you can usually work remotely, from what I hear.

Has anyone heard positive or negative things about Axiom or the Axiom model?  Would love folks' informed thoughts.

[biglawinvestor]

Great question ClosterToFree. I'd love to hear from someone who has worked at Axiom. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone that's there although I'm generally familiar with them as well. It does sound like it could be an ideal opportunity for part time work. Agreed that the tradeoff on getting more vacation time in exchange for less interesting work might really be worth it.

[Trifle]

Posting to follow.  I am looking to FIRE in two years, but would be interested in something like this. 

[Candace]

To the OP (CloserToFree): Where did you hear that remote work is common with Axiom? I've been over their website and I don't see anything that speaks directly to that. My fiance is an attorney and this could be of interest to him. More accurately, I'm interested in it being of interest to him :-).

I'm already working part-time and have a good stash, but he doesn't. He keeps saying he'll always work, but then seems to like the idea of taking a few months off and traveling. He doesn't buy anything for himself, but he tends to practice law for people who are deserving, but who can't pay him very much. I'm trying to get him to consider working "occasionally" or part-time, but he doesn't see how that's feasible as a lawyer, because that's not usually how the industry works.

He has a good mix of skills as a former chemist, an MBA and over 10 years practicing law. I wonder whether the combination of chemistry and law would make him an attractive candidate for Axiom.

[CloserToFree]

Didn't mention this in the original post but I do have a friend who did corporate-type work via Axiom and has been really happy with the arrangement.  She was able to work out basically a 3-day-a-week schedule (at least 1 of those days is from home) -- she performs an in-house function for a major pharmaceutical company.  I think specifically she's been helping implement/navigate a merger with a smaller company.  She says the pay is good (consistent with what I've heard elsewhere). 

I also communicated in the past with someone who works on the business side of Axiom, and she specifically said the work can be remote or on site according to what you want.  I'd bet not all opportunities are remote-compatible (and many are standard 40-50 hr/week full time gigs), but I'd guess there's significant leeway for remote work for many assignments.

[Candace]

CloserToFree, thank you for your reply. I was wondering if you had some inside information :-). My boyfriend sounds interested, so hopefully he will pursue it soon. Currently he works a few days a week for a law firm, has a small outside practice with a partner, and does some solo work. He would be well suited to a project-oriented type of law, and has some particular talents, especially his knowledge of chemistry, and his ease with people. Axiom sounds like a wonderful alternative to either BigLaw or RinkyDinkLaw to me.

[CloserToFree]

CloserToFree, thank you for your reply. I was wondering if you had some inside information :-). My boyfriend sounds interested, so hopefully he will pursue it soon. Currently he works a few days a week for a law firm, has a small outside practice with a partner, and does some solo work. He would be well suited to a project-oriented type of law, and has some particular talents, especially his knowledge of chemistry, and his ease with people. Axiom sounds like a wonderful alternative to either BigLaw or RinkyDinkLaw to me.

Good luck Candace!