The homeworking solicitor

Solicitor Christopher Davis founded law firm Davis and Co in 1993, specifically to make use of teleworkers. Many, such as university law lecturers, book-keepers and secretaries, work on a contract basis, and all staff have their own offices, usually at home.

Mr Davis says cutting out large London offices has saved thousands of pounds. He estimates that where most companies pay 35 per cent of turnover in overheads, Davis and Co pays just 17 per cent.

He believes he has seen a 25 per cent increase in staff productivity since taking on only teleworkers.

"With portable computers, email and mobile phones, wherever they go in the world our staff always have their office with them," said Mr Davis. "The technology is readily available. The barrier is the culture - getting people to adopt it."

The firm's small office in Clifford's Inn, London, is treated more like a clubhouse, but is needed as an occasional meeting point for clients.

Keeping in touch as a teleworker can take military precision. Mr Davis has six phone lines, three email services, two desktop computers, a laptop, a pocket computer, mobile phone, fax and answering machine. His address book contains 3,500 names.

"I can get in a taxi and continue sending emails from my laptop," said Mr Davis, who often works from his home in Hampstead.