Weekly trading volumes on the NYSE jumped 15%, while niche legal consulting—core to the "lawyer side hustle"—has expanded by 6% in billable hours. Analysts link this growth to corporate restructurings driven by Q2 earnings volatility, making legal freelancing a countercyclical income tool. After a few years in corporate America, Zac VanHeyningen was looking to do something he was more passionate about. He decided to try buying real estate as-is in Memphis, Tennessee. By 2022 he had made $175,000. While it isn't easy to deal with homes that are often damaged or neglected, he says that you can scale the amount of work to your schedule. The timing was fortuitous. The Covid-19 pandemic soon shut down courts, and Morgan's work at an Indianapolis-based law firm slowed dramatically. As a junior lawyer on contingency cases, fewer court dates meant fewer opportunities to get paid. Private equity deal flow slowing by 12% pushes firms to outsource legal diligence. "Lawyer side hustle" engagement rises in step, echoing the defensive investor stance favoring cash-flow-positive businesses during periods of market uncertainty.
