Stanley had originally wanted to be a chef, until his Mother convinced him a career as a solicitor would be more pragmatic.
It was whilst studying for his law degree, Stanley pursued a personal passion project in his spare time; he ran his own spearfishing charter business (www.xspearfishing.com.au).
After qualifying and working as a junior lawyer for a few years, Stanley eventually secured a position at Pinsent Masons in their Sydney office. It was while working here, Stanley met with Greg Plummer, Vario Account Manager. It was Greg who suggested that Stanley consider applying to Vario to pursue a more flexible legal career than his full time position. Stanley recalls: The more I heard him speak about Vario (and Greg is really loud!), the more it interested me as I could run the fishing business full time in summer when it boomed and still have a professional career in winter”.
After applying online, Stanley went through Vario’s application process and was accepted into the hub, joining other like-minded legal professionals in its hub. Describing his most recent assignment with Vario, Stanley notes: “Very interesting, it’s a company delivering infrastructure services to keep cities operating in the midst of Covid19, the work is very fast-paced and intellectually stimulating, but also extremely rewarding knowing that you are part of a team keeping the lights on and roads clean during a difficult period”.
Although Stanley finds working with Vario on his assignment challenging and at times quite demanding, he prefers his current work-life balance overall: “The hours are generally just as demanding as private practice, however the beauty of it is that you can work 8 months a year then do something else for 4 months and repeat it all again” he comments.
Outside of legal work, Stanley continues to work on his fishing venture; “I spend a lot of time on the spearfishing [business], I also host a YouTube cooking channel and do some product endorsements, so my hobbies revolve around catching Australian seafood and forever thinking of new ways to cook for friends, family and guests” enthuses Stanley.
His parting advice he would give to others planning a career with Vario is as follows; “Develop a good network of partners that you trust, being a Vario means being on your own in the thick of a client environment often dealing with issues which are not your area of expertise, having experienced practitioners that you can bounce ideas off is very important, and it’s always a two way street – the more Varios and the firm support each other, the better service for the client and the more work for everyone”.
If you’re seeking more flexible legal work to fit around your lifestyle, get in touch with the team today.