How to Become a Freelance Legal Editor

By Bethan McGloin
May 12, 2023
5 min read

Legal editing can be a rewarding career that is particularly popular among freelancers. But breaking into this specialized industry can seem like a daunting task, especially if you haven’t been an editor for long.

In this post, we explain:

What legal editing involves
How you can pursue a career as a freelance legal editor – even if you don’t have a background in law

What Is Legal Writing?

Legal writing is any type of writing that is produced within the legal industry. It may be written by, or for, lawyers and other legal professionals. This type of writing tends to be dense, formal, and technical and often uses specific terminology.

Legal writing can be broadly divided into three categories:

Legal analysis, which explores a legal issue or problem with the intention of offering a solution.
Legal drafting, which involves producing a legally binding document such as a contract or will.
Persuasive legal writing, which aims to persuade the reader to take a particular legal position.

Examples of legal documents include:

Legal briefs
Court summaries
Website copy for law firms
Research papers
Legal analysis in journals or magazines

Whatever form legal writing takes, it needs to be precise, clear, and accurate.

What Does a Legal Editor Do?

A legal editor is someone who works in-house with a legal organization or on a freelance basis to prepare legal writing for publication. They’re responsible for editing legal documents to ensure that they:

Are free from grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors
Are written clearly
Provide coherent arguments
Use legal terms and concepts correctly
Use legal citations correctly
Contain accurate dates and other statistics
Follow the firm or organization’s style guide

In some cases, a legal editor will need to research the relevant subject first in order to make appropriate changes and suggestions. And when a piece of writing targets a more general audience, they may need to translate complicated ‘legalese’ into plain English.

As well as more typical editing tasks, a legal editor might also be expected to produce content for a firm’s social media page or prepare summaries of longer documents.

How To Become a Legal Editor

1. Make Sure You Have the Right Skills

To work as a freelance editor in any field, you’ll need to possess skills such as:

A good understanding of grammar and spelling
A keen eye for detail
Strong communication skills
Computer literacy
The ability to concentrate for long periods
Time management skills
Self-motivation and discipline

In addition, a solid understanding of the legal system is essential if you want to specialize in legal editing.

But while some organizations will require you to have a background in law or a legal degree, you may also be able to find work as a legal editor if you have a degree or experience in a related field, such as English or communications.

Before getting started as a legal editor, consider sharpening your skills by investing in a legal dictionary and undergoing additional training.

2. Seek Out Experience and Build a Portfolio

Being able to demonstrate a range of editing and legal experience will help you find work as a legal editor. There are several ways you can gain relevant experience, from proofreading documents for friends and family to volunteering for online ebook initiatives.

And if you don’t have a background in law already, you can gain experience in the industry by:

Taking on a part-time or entry-level role within a law firm, such as a file clerk or messenger
Volunteering for non-profit organizations such as legal aid agencies
Requesting legal or HR-related tasks in your current job
Writing or editing law blogs

As you build your experience, don’t forget to save and present your best work in the form of a portfolio. This will help demonstrate your skills to potential clients.

3. Market Yourself and Find Clients

With the right skills and experience under your belt, all that’s left to do is market yourself:

Update your resume. Make sure your resume contains all your relevant education, training, and experience, stating that you’re looking for work as a legal editor.
Set up a website and professional online profiles. Create a website and online presence that clearly demonstrates the services you offer, your rates, and how potential clients can contact you.
Identify the clients you want to work with. Think about what specific parts of the legal industry appeal to you – for example, drafting complex documents, legal journalism, or case research – and identify clients who specialize in those areas.
Reach out to your target clients. Join relevant groups on social media, contribute to forums, and cold email individuals and firms to offer your editing services.

As you complete work, ask your clients for testimonials and recommendations, which in turn will help you find more clients and grow your freelance legal editing business.

Becoming a Proofreader or Editor

Whether you’re looking to specialize in a particular field or just want to broaden your horizons with a career in editing, our Becoming a Proofreader and Becoming an Editor courses can help.

With course content written by industry experts, tutor support, and guaranteed work, we’ve got everything you need to get started as a freelancer. Curious? Try us out with a free trial!