If you’re pursuing a law career, are you aware of all your options?

The traditionally change-resistant legal profession is experiencing a rare shake-up, fuelled by the economic climate, technological advances and other disruptive forces. According to a recent report by Legal Solutions, a quarter of all law firms will have disappeared by 2020. Does this mean businesses and individuals no longer require highly skilled legal professionals? Of course not. On our platforms at Elance-oDesk, demand from businesses seeking talented legal professionals in the online freelancer market is increasing every month. What’s changing is not the demand for talent, but the methods of reaching it.

Over the past year, UK businesses have been seeking freelancers with skills in contract, IP and patent law, alongside flexible legal writing and research skills. Those who can perform paralegal services are also in high demand. Traditionally, businesses requiring these types of services and skills had to employ established law firms - with the advancement of new technologies and new ways of doing business, this is no longer the case.

It’s not just businesses that are driving this change. Increasingly, aspiring lawyers are discovering that the coveted "big firm" route into a legal career falls short in terms of their lifestyle expectations. This is very typical of the millennial generation. Having a job which offers flexibility is also key, as a more holistic approach to life and work is emerging - in fact, 41% of respondents to a recent survey said that flexibility was key. The biggest motivator is the chance to work on exciting and interesting projects (53%) and 57% claim the concept of corporate loyalty to be dead. This is perhaps unsurprising when you consider a third of lawyers work more than 50 hours a week according to survey by Robert Walters.

A third of millennials have already freelanced, tempted by the opportunity to carve out a profitable career with the flexibility to travel and constantly upgrade their skills and expertise. It’s not an easy path; to be a highly successful freelance lawyer, you must be a self-starter, be highly motivated and have a huge passion for what you do. You should also be a life-long learner - we live in fast-moving times with skill demands in constant flux. To stay relevant, successful freelancers evaluate what the market needs and update their skills accordingly.

However, for those that are willing to brave it, the opportunities for legal freelancers look set to grow exponentially. The legal profession may be undergoing radical changes, but the talented freelancer has a real opportunity to pull ahead of their peers while achieving a work life balance of which their salaried colleagues can only dream.

Hayley Conick is UK country manager at Elance-oDesk.