Your most important bank account By Adam Kohl No Normal November It's probably fair to say that, for those of us in Europe, November is proving to be something of a drag. We are all just trying to work our way through the month and remain as cheerful as possible...
So What Does The Future Hold? by Kwan Cheung Some countries are, at time of writing, now beginning to make the first tentative steps of the long journey to economic recovery from hitherto the most prolific global epidemic in living memory, with far-reaching...
Working remotely in Germany – from nuts to normal? By Britta Spachtholz The Past As long as you are not employed as a craftsman of any kind, working in Germany means going to an office and spending your workday there. Actually as an employee you have the obligation of...
Guest Blog Article: Freelance professional or professional freelancer? By Rebecca Lovelock Remote working and flexible employment are within the DNA of Vario. But that flavour of innovation has now been tasted in many walks of life, and the emphasis on centralised...
How to catch some Z's. By Sohaib Tariq My first ever memory was using a smartphone; my parents are millennials and I witnessed the death of the DVD. In other words, I'm Generation Z. The days of Generation Z are upon us. This year marks the first year where Gen Z...
The Importance of Mental Health as a Legal Professional By Paul Garth A couple of weeks ago I facilitated an engaging discussion with Grant Pritchard, Senior Legal Counsel at Spark New Zealand, and an advocate for positive mental health within the legal sector. The...
Ramadan in Lockdown By Sohaib Tariq Every year, millions of Muslims observe Ramadan. 2020 is no exception. Except this IS an exceptional year; around the globe Muslims had to practice fasting under lockdown restrictions, adding another a new dimension to an already...
Could Working From Home Be Here to Stay? By Dan Lloyd Vario Account Executive Dan Lloyd asks whether working from home will be more widely accepted post pandemic. In these unprecedented times, a lot of workers are getting to grips with working from home for the first...
Following graduation from the University of Edinburgh, Mark worked successfully and very happily as a private practice lawyer within a small selection of prestigious law firms. However, following a downturn within the oil and gas sector, Mark decided it was time to...
Find Your Passion By Keely Simpson Vario Account Executive Keely Simpson explains why it's so important to make time for your hobbies. Work plays an important role in many of our lives. Often so much so that we forget to be ourselves every now and again. For many of...
Cooking in Isolation By Lindsy Facchino Vario Account Manager Lindsy Facchino has delved into her kitchen to stay sane whilst in lockdown. Here's one of her favourite recipes for you to try while in isolation. As a self-confessed restaurant junkie, when the...
Finding Salvation in Gardening By James Skinner Unprecedented times! I am sure we can all repeat this mantra in our sleep. How then can we make ourselves feel good with minimal exertion and maximum results? Gardening -that's how! I am sure that many of you have heard...
Into the Wild By Greg Plummer Our Vario Account Manager in Sydney, Greg Plummer recently travelled to South Africa. He explains how sleeping near lions made him reflect on a freelance career. Into the Wild November 2019 was South African Safari time for me and my...
Are you a Professional or a “Process-ional”? By Kwan Cheung We all class ourselves as working ‘professionals’, particularly those qualified with the prestigious title of ‘lawyer’ or ‘legal consultant’, but just how professional are you in your role really? ...
How to Embrace Working from Home By Rhys Davies Last year I sought to highlight the growing number of professionals embracing remote working (you can read that article here), inspired by the distributed workforce model advocated by Auttomatic’s CEO, Matt Mullenweg...
Guest Blog Article: Stressed About Work? By Fiona Chambers ‘It’s not the load that breaks you, it’s the way you carry it’ Let’s be honest, working as a lawyer can be stressful at times. As a freelance lawyer, arguably the prospect of a decent work/life balance is not...
Guest Blog Article:Why Technological Education is Crucial for Lawyers By Jane Bronson In today’s economy, staying updated is the true key to getting ahead. After all, your soft and hard skills are only useful if you can apply them in a constantly changing business...
Relocating for Work, My Account of What to Expect, the Good the Bad and the Ugly... (Mostly the Good!) By Keeley Hanlon Keeley Hanlon, Vario Account Executive based in our Melbourne office explains why she took the leap to migrate down under. The world of work is...
Far removed from her current role as a lawyer, Jacinta actually grew up on a Merino sheep farm in Victoria Australia, but her family encouraged her to be whatever she wanted to be, "With a passion for reading and challenging the status quo, law was a natural choice"...
Still In Pursuit By Adam Kohl Defining Happiness It's over two years since the brilliant Michael Fleming came into present to Vario on the subject of happiness, in his training titled 'The Pursuit of Happiness'. This was a fabulous session, but there is always the...
Putting Scotland on the Map By Francesca Rossi When I was approached by the Vario Marketing team to contribute an article to the Vario blog, I was advised that the topic choice should be relevant and interesting to our audience, not necessarily law related. With this...
Not many people can boast a stint in Toronto, a successful legal career and raising four children all born within four years of each other, but Kara McLaren has managed it. Here she describes her journey to become a Vario in her own words. I studied at the University...
Jack decided upon a career in law whilst still studying at school, judging that the analytical and academic skills he gained would suit well to the role of a lawyer. After deciding that the legal profession was the one for him, Jack applied successfully to Pinsent...
Back in 2016, Emma Sinclair was working as a senior legal counsel for one of the world's largest oil and gas services companies. As is typical in the sector, significant travel was a standard part of the job, alongside tight deadlines, demanding clients and a...
Guest Blog Article: How to Manage an Unpredictable Income By Johanna Cider With flexible working schedules being well sought, many people have turned to freelancing as a career option. Freelancing is a great way to make a living. It gives you complete freedom of how...
From employment law to jazz; to Canada and back; to part-time working; to psychotherapy and coaching; Jenny Wilson is bringing as much colour as possible to her life as a Vario. Jenny's legal career started in a fairly traditional way. Having studied languages and...
National Fitness Day 2019 By Kwan Cheung Fitting In Fitness Wednesday 25th September 2019 is National Fitness Day in the UK, a day dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and abilities to get up and be more physically active. Working in a high-pressure job with...
Mindfulness A Valuable Tool for Freelance Lawyers Mindfulness is increasingly recognised as a powerful technique for looking after our minds and bringing greater focus, calm and clarity. However, Mindfulness is more than a mere mind training technique – when practised...
One Small Step into Space, One Giant Leap Online A recent survey by LEGO made the news asking 3,000 children in the US, China and the UK about their attitudes to space to mark 50 years since mankind successful mission to land on the moon. Upon being asked ‘What do...
The science of sleep and performance: how can you find the optimal balance? My legal heros all have two things in common. Firstly, they are imaginary (Suits & Silk being particular favourites), and secondly, they don’t sleep much. On TV, the ah-ha moments...