Hilary Golding

Clients are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits a flexible legal consultant can bring to their legal teams. 10 years ago, it wasn’t all that commonplace for in-house teams to contain flexible consultants, but today things have certainly changed. The simple fact is that contracting has become a viable career for legal professionals because it works. It works for clients, it works for legal teams and crucially, it works for lawyers.

At Vario, we believe in giving the members of our Flexible Services hub a platform to talk about their experience so that you can hear directly from them why contracting works. Recently, we had the opportunity to speak to Hilary Golding to hear her Vario story.

Hilary, is a lawyer within the financial services sector and undertook her Training Contract at a specialist insurance litigation firm in London. She has an extensive background within the financial sector working in a number of different roles from Deputy Company Secretary to Senior Legal Counsel. She found Vario in June of 2021 after a period away from work spent home-schooling her children during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Why did you want to work with Vario?

“I enjoy the variety of work and meeting new people that comes with working as a flexible legal consultant. I’m adaptable and enjoy applying my legal knowledge to new situations/contracts, but I also enjoy the flexibility of being able to spend time with my family.”

What was your experience of going on assignment with Vario like?

“My experience has been very positive and rewarding. I am confident that Vario have high quality contracts and I felt that I had the support of the law firm and the tools I needed to succeed with my work.”

What sort of work did you do whilst on assignment with Vario?

“I was placed with an international company within the financial services sector and worked with them as an Insurance Products Lawyer. Their in-house team were very welcoming and actually, after my assignment had come to an end, they offered me a permanent position with them.

I got to do a wide variety of work from advising on product related issues to considering regulatory issues such as the application of the FCA rules and FOS decisions. As part of my role, I was also able to advise the Client on policy terms and conditions, assisting on the launch of new products such as a temporary car insurance proposition.”

Do you think that working with Vario helped your legal career?

“Absolutely, yes! The legal profession is constantly evolving so taking on contract work gives you plenty of room for personal growth and development. With Vario I had the chance to develop a passion, explore a new area of work, or diversify my skills experience.

I think that contracting gives you more freedom and with that you can choose to continue your education, or to have time for a young family, or anything else you want to do. Vario allowed me to make decisions about my career whilst being guided and supported. I also got to know Partners at the law firm who have been a source of knowledge and inspiration.”

Would you recommend Vario to clients and other legal professionals?

“Yes. The Client I worked with had the benefit of an experienced lawyer with relevant legal knowledge, vetted and supported by a reputable law firm. On top of that, I was available to start working for them at short notice, so everybody was a winner.”

If you’re interested in hiring, or becoming, a flexible legal consultant like Hilary, then please get in touch!

If you want to read more of our Vario stories, then you can find our last one here.