Staff profile: Tammie Lazell

Position: Receptionist in the Maidstone office, for 16 years.

What are your main responsibilities and daily duties?

Greeting clients - showing them to meeting rooms, taking general telephone calls, taking credit card payments, helping with opening and scanning the post, booking meeting rooms, booking lunches, entering data on spreadsheets, paying in cheques and generally helping out with any light secretarial duties.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in the legal sector? 

Before I joined Gullands I worked as a cashier for NatWest Bank and was very interested in the probate side of banking.  I felt the next step was to pursue a career in the legal sector rather than banking. This is how I became involved with Gullands.

What is the best part of the job?

I absolutely love my job and adore meeting different types of clients – we seem to make peoples’ dreams and wishes come true here.  Anything from a young couple buying their very first property to people buying new businesses. It’s always exciting to see how transactions progress with new and old businesses expanding and growing.

My favourite moments are always when clients come in and use my name and ask how I am or they seem pleased and happy to see me, over the years I have become well known by many clients, which is very rewarding and it is always nice to see returning clients, time and time again.

If you were not in this job, what would you be doing?  

I am a great animal lover and would love to either be working in a zoo or in an animal sanctuary – but then knowing me, I would probably want to take home every animal at the end of my shift!  I have an adopted pig called Jasmine who lives at Kent life and I help pay with her upkeep and visit her as often as I can.

What changes would you like to see happen in the law in the next 10-20 years?    

I would like to see court fees lowered as I feel some people are scared of pursuing certain matters, purely because of the cost.  Also, I feel that matrimonial law should change slightly as a two year wait for a divorce is far too long in certain cases.

What do you like doing in your spare time?  

I work in my local village pub at the weekends, which includes bar work and waitressing and I also have a big family and a big circle of friends, so I enjoy going out for dinner, shopping and holidaying. My favourite destinations so far have been Jamaica and Ibiza.