Greer Epton

Vario Stories

| 20 Apr 2022 | 9:00 am

We often hear how much life changes for lawyers since joining Vario; life for freelance lawyer Greer Upton is a great example of this. After working a five year stint in-house for a large defence company, Greer decided that she wanted a change of pace from her full-time position.

How freelancing can work for you

Hear from Greer how freelancing with Pinsent Masons Vario changed her career.

Greer Epton had settled on the idea of reducing her hours but was unsure how to find a new position which would allow her the flexibility she desired. As it happened, she heard about Pinsent Masons Vario Flexible Services and decided to learn more. She recalls her experience; "My friend who I trained with at Pinsent Masons, mentioned Vario and that the opportunities weren’t always on a full-time basis. I made enquiries and was really impressed by the Vario team, they were friendly and encouraging, and said my skillset would fit many of their clients’ requirements. I told myself I would try it for a year and see how it went. Two years later, I am still with Vario and have had a very positive experience".

Since joining, Greer has made full use of her newfound career flexibility: "I feel more in control of my future. I’ve also been exposed to more industries and broadened my experience. I can decide if I want to take time off, don’t have to worry about performance reviews and promotions, and am away from any ‘office politics’. The one downside is not having the immediate close-knit team to bounce ideas off and collaborate. You have to make the extra effort to make connections with people and have regular catch-ups, but I have established this with the Pinsent Masons partner I work closely with and found everyone to be very welcoming" she comments.

It goes without saying that the last couple of years have been quite disruptive for many. However, Greer was able to make the best use of the flexibility provided to her as a freelancer to work around the challenges of navigating Covid and its resulting lockdowns; "When the first lockdown happened I had just completed a six-month assignment working within the client’s offices as their in-house Corporate Counsel. Lockdown hit the week as I was finishing my role. I decided at that point to take a pause in work to help my son with his home-schooling. At the time he was in Year 2 and needed help and motivation to concentrate on his work. It was stressful but we made it fun, and I was thankful I didn’t have to juggle home-working too. Vario gave me the flexibility to take some time out. My husband was working from home too and was able to concentrate on his job" she notes.

As a working parent, Greer has really benefited from the much improved work-life blend afforded by a flexible career: "Thankfully whilst I have been a parent I have been able to benefit from flexible working to enable me to do a hard day’s work but yet still have time to be Mum too...Vario provides the flexibility to accommodate the school holidays, help with homework and have a bit more breathing space to catch up on “life admin”.

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