Of course there are risks, but you almost never hear of people having LE issues with independent escorts. Maybe you just don't "hear" about it, but I think you would - deterrence and all that.
That doesn't mean there aren't risks that very well may give a sensible person good reason to opt out, maybe reading these forums for kicks and limiting their activities to strip clubs...just for example
Things I'd guess are bigger concerns than J. Law that you should ponder in my totally subjective order of importance include...
1. Women in your life. Maybe you're single, then just move on. But if you have a wife or GF, this one usually rises to the top, unless you're an awesome sales guy and she is really open minded. The potential cost can range from a moderately upsetting breakup you laugh off to a devastating loss of family and financial impact depending on your particular circumstances.
2. You mentioned career. Seems to me if you'd lose your job for being busted by the law, then you'd probably lose it for being outed credibly as well. That happens sometimes in various ways. If you're a personal injury attorney or trash collector, no biggy. If you're a minister, politician (conservatives only) or school teacher you might want to worry about this one a bit more.
3. STDs. It's our there, whether you're paying for it or not. But it moves the meter and has a negative synergy with #1 above. I'm not sure the girls are higher risk because their professional promiscuity is probably balanced out by their greater committment to protection, but if you're a hobbyist YOU are typically getting more from more places.
There are others. You could get you're butt kicked by a pimp, get robbed, get some girl pregnant, but these all seem to me to fall lower, especially using a board like this and sticking to known upright professionals. There are also more personal subtle issues like will this ruin "civilians" for you and do you care.
Good luck. Done right (like in my mind not behind an SOs back, do what you can to ensure your providers are not subject to any kind of coersion and are making their choices independently, BUT everybody has their own mind) this doesn't have to be something to feel bad about morality wise, but if you're freaking out you probably won't enjoy yourself, so you might want to process the idea for a bit longer before taking the plunge.