Herbert Smith are international lawyers with offices throughout Europe and Asia, and this year have established a presence in the Middle East with the opening of an office in Dubai. The London office has more than 800 lawyers dealing with the corporate and financial affairs of multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

We have a total of 64 meetings rooms and a 200 seat Auditorium. My role is to manage the use of these facilities, the reception, reservations and audio visual teams and front of house areas.

How many receptionists work under you?

I look after a team of 8 receptionists , 2 reservations co-coordinators and 2 audio visual technicians

Do your staff share all aspects of the work or do they have specific roles, such as meeting room co-ordination, telephone answering etc.

Whilst we have dedicated roles, depending on the level of business, all of the team are able to provide additional cover when necessary. .

On this website we have a list a number of training courses available for receptionists; do you think it would be useful for your staff to train in any aspect of their work?

The firm runs various client service courses and we are currently running a 'Good to Excellent' program firm wide. All of the team come from either a hotel or airline background which means they have very high service standards and as such are very professional in their manner.

Some of our readers who are interested in becoming a legal receptionist have asked if it is essential to know a lot of legal terminology to be employed.

There is a certain amount of terminology used day to day, this can be learnt on the job and no special training is required.

Do any of your staff speak another language and is this useful?

We are able to speak 5 languages between us in the team but it is very rare a client visits who is unable to speak English.

Are you responsible for recruiting new Front of House staff? Do you carry out the interviews?

I look after recruitment in conjunction with HR and will carry out all interviews.

How important is your first impression of a prospective candidate?

This is extremely important as the majority of clients coming in will do exactly that - judge by first impressions.

Have you ever taken anyone on who impressed you during an interview although your first impression of them was negative?

You will often find someone who impresses you during an interview in the sense they have obviously done their research and as a result are able to provide good responses but there are several criteria that a person has to meet and this in isolation is not enough obviously.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of applying for a job with Herbert Smith on reception – what particular skills should they possess.

From a client service background, good presentation is essential but the most important quality is that of being able to anticipate the client’s needs and a willingness to go that extra mile in order to exceed the expectations of clients. Candidates should be friendly whilst not to over the top and have good communication and social skills. The ability to remain calm under pressure is a must as well as possessing good attention to detail.

Do you have very high standards?

In any client service environment, standards are all important, Attention to detail is essential and that is what clients will notice. For example, every room is checked by a receptionist before the client goes into it, to ensure it is up to standard. Every client is escorted personally through to their meeting room where they will be offered refreshments and made to feel comfortable.

Do you ever have complaints from the lawyers about Front of House, and if so do they generally complain formally or informally?

Our Partners are very complimentary about the team and we regularly receive thank you emails and gifts. The only cause for complaint is usually with regards to the high demand on space. All meeting rooms are regularly booked on a 'back to back' basis with often only minutes to turn the room around for the next meeting. This obviously causes a problem for anyone requesting a meeting room at short notice but we will always do our utmost to accommodate them.

Do you get on well with your team? Did you celebrate with them at Christmas? Were there decorations in the reception areas?

I am very lucky to have a fantastic team and we all have a very good relationship and often socialize together. We had a lovely Christmas here and by way of tradition always decorate the trees ourselves for the front of house areas.

How long have you worked on reception?

I come from a hotel background where I started off as a receptionist in a privately owned hotel 15 years ago and then progressed through various Front of House roles and moved to the Holiday Inn Mayfair where I worked for 6 years and left there as Front Office/Guest Relations Manager to come to Herbert Smith.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you working on reception either as a manager or before?

Probably when I was at Mayfair, on an evening shift and Reception contacted me to say that a guest had complained that there was a naked man in one of the corridors! Obviously I was a little unsure of what to expect but when I went upstairs there was this poor man holding a fire extinguisher in front of himself. He had been locked out of his room and was obviously not in a position to come down to the Reception to ask for another key. I am not sure who was most embarrassed, him or me!

If you are interested in working for Herbert Smith or any other law firm, bank or hotel featured in FOH, please email your CV to info@frontofhousemagazine.co.uk