When I joined Fancy & Jackson had four offices. I worked in the conveyancing department for the senior partner, Tony Jackson. Over the years the firm got smaller and one marriage and two children later Fancy & Jackson were taken over by Blaser Mills in 2009.

At that time the majority of the staff at Fancy & Jackson had been with the company for 10+ years and so were understandably nervous about the changes that were going to take place.

However we need not have been worried as the transition from Fancy & Jackson to Blaser Mills went very smoothly and although, in some ways, it was very different working for Blaser Mills, the partners and staff made us all feel very welcome and part of the firm, despite the fact that their other offices were all clumped closely together and we were some distance away on the other side of the M25.

In 2017 a decision was made to close the Staines office and all members of staff were offered roles in any of the other offices or to take voluntary redundancy. Having two primary aged school children at this point it would not have been possible for me to make the daily commute to any of the other offices so I was facing the possibility of redundancy.

I was surprised but very pleased to be asked if I wanted to trial working remotely at home. This had never been done in the firm before but we felt that it was something that could work effectively – it was definitely worth giving it a go.

I started working remotely in May 2017. I was nervous to begin with as I really wanted it to work. My role in the firm changed from being a secretary/PA to one department to being a support resource that could be called upon by all departments across the firm. Four years on and I am loving the role. I am able to completely balance my work and my commitments at home. Although I almost never go to any of the offices I feel that I know more people across the firm than I did when I was office-based. It has been great to get to know a wider group of people on a more personal level and also to experience the different types of law undertaken in the firm.