What led you to join Elevate Flexible Resourcing as a legal secondee?
I used to work as an in-house legal counsel, supporting businesses in various legal areas. I really wanted to choose and focus on the legal field I was most passionate about (data privacy), whilst working in a flexible way. The result is a better work-life balance for me, and for customers, it is a more cost-effective way of hiring lawyers.
What aspects of being an Elevate Flexible Resourcing lawyer do you find most compelling?
The three most compelling aspects, in my opinion, are:
- The flexible working hours: I am a lawyer, but I am also an entrepreneur, I run my own business; sometimes, I wish to work on a full-time basis as a lawyer, other times, working a few days a week works better for me; I can choose to work for a short or a longer period.
- The freedom to actually choose the legal field I wish to practise in; currently, I am working in data privacy, data protection and cybersecurity; but ultimately, I am a UK-qualified solicitor with an oil & gas/energy background; I know if I were to wish to go back to that area, there would be opportunities thanks to Elevate diverse and outstanding pool of customers.
- The possibility to work 100% remotely. I know there are options to work at the customers’ offices, should you wish to. Even though I work from home, I find that there is still a strong sense of community, with occasions to meet up with Elevate colleagues virtually or physically.
What have been the highlights of the secondments you have had?
I have been fortunate enough to have had three rewarding secondments working for telecom companies and global software cloud services providers, where I gained so much knowledge of various industries and the opportunity to work at a senior executive level. Living and working in the Caribbean for an assignment was definitely a highlight!
How have your different secondee positions differed? What have been the common threads?
One of the assignments differed as I primarily used my French language and legal skills. In general, I report to the Legal teams, but in other assignments, I would report to Finance directors or chief information security teams. In all cases, the customers’ teams are friendly and supportive, which helps immensely to provide efficient legal support from day one.
How has your work with Elevate enabled you to thrive as a legal secondee? How has it given you a view into the key aspects of being a legal secondee?
Working with Elevate enabled me to specialise and become an SME whilst working for different companies in different departments. Being a legal secondee, one must work in a methodological and agile way.
What aspects of a secondee position are most important/interesting to you?
It allows me to learn about different businesses and what makes customers happy.
From your experience with Elevate as a legal secondee, are there aspects of the role that people who haven’t served in that capacity might not realise or understand the importance of?
Working for Elevate Flexible Legal Resourcing team means working independently, however, you are not alone. You have access to legal libraries and fantastic teams to support you. There may be a few days or weeks between assignments (which helps to spend quality time with the family or plan to go on long holidays).
To anyone thinking about becoming a secondee, what advice do you have?
Try it, you have nothing to lose. It has been the best decision I have ever made. In terms of advice:
- Make a list of what truly matters to you (the legal field? the contract duration?)
- Once you have savings, take the leap of faith; it is worth it. You will be rewarded professionally and financially.
It is like being a permanent employee (you have colleagues, you are part of the Elevate family; you may get paid holidays, pension contributions etc.) whilst having the flexibility and excitement of changing jobs frequently, whenever you want.