By Legal Futures’ Associates Flex Legal
Like many of us, I had a normal ‘working life’ until the pandemic hit. I never thought I would be able to work around my schedule nor that I would have the opportunity to work remotely from my home country. I have been working remotely on and off for over a year now – enjoying the sunshine, getting more time outdoors and being busier than ever!
The thing is, I had always been skeptical of 9:5 and an overly corporate life. In these trying times, a healthy, productive working environment and of course life/work balance, are more vital than ever. Remote working has certainly paved the way towards a flexible, practical work schedule allowing for a personalised and, hence, more efficient way of working. Besides improved performance, flexible working has given me the time to work on my professional development in a more meaningful way i.e. study towards a new professional certification, stay on top of industry developments, conduct legal research etc. I am hoping to see more businesses adopt flexible work patterns with a human touch, and I find that Flex is a major enabler in this field.
My journey with Flex started during the summer of 2020 when I met Mary online. I was immediately struck by her friendly yet professional approach and closely followed Flex as it grew into a rising superstar in the world of legal services resourcing. I was thrilled when I was placed with a global publishing and information company to work as a consultant in their data protection team. This enabled me to get experience in the transactional and advisory aspects of data protection, in an industry that was then largely unknown to me.
Looking back, I’ve always been a genuinely curious person and have strived to carve my own path rather than just listen to friends and family. This has led to some interesting experiences that I have found personally and professionally enriching – including working with Flex. When I graduated from university, I rejected a position in a global business and opted instead for a much more meaningful role in a small legal-tech startup. Here, I had first-hand experience with diverse clients on commercial, IP and data privacy legal matters. This has been my most formative experience to date and it is also where I discovered Data Privacy, right when the GDPR hype was starting. One thing led to another and I ended up working as DP Lead for a tech giant. However, I soon realised that I did not enjoy working in a corporate environment and wanted to focus on developing myself, performing impactful work and building interpersonal relationships. At that time, I had started freelancing for family and friends who were in need of legal advice and when the lockdown hit, I realised that I needed to step up my game. I set myself the goal of slowly building my own business and getting exposure to as many different industries as possible.
For what it’s worth, my experience with Flex has highlighted the unexpected benefits of remote working. I have found that working remotely can help reduce discrimination in the workplace and promote equality of opportunity. Without undermining the importance of human interaction, remote hiring can lead to decisions based on meritocracy and have a positive effect in removing bias during the recruitment process. While working remotely through Flex I felt that my performance was evaluated based on my substantive skills, rather than on biased criteria such as my age, ethnicity etc. I have found that remote flexible working has lifted unnecessary corporate formalities and the burden of often difficult, firmly structured and one-sided office relationships. I am happy to say that I have been trusted with more responsibility as well as interesting tasks during my Flex placement, and that my professional authority in my field of work is being properly respected.
Addition reading
Anthi’s LinkedIn – you’ve read her story, now take a look at Anthi’s full professional profile.
A job that works around you – a blog post from Hannah, a Flex lawyer working remotely in the French Alps and making the most of the Flex lifestyle.
Learn more about being a Flex Legal Lawyer – thinking the Flex lawyer lifestyle might be for you? Have a closer look at what the interim lawyer lifestyle can offer you today!
