Every month our team nominates colleagues at Barnes and Partners to feature in our Staff Spotlight. It is a way we can celebrate the excellence of our staff and give you a glimpse into the day-to-day life of our fantastic legal professionals.
This month we shine the spotlight on Kimberley Osborne, New Build Conveyancing Solicitor, at our Stevenage Barnes and Partners Solicitors office.
Kim has a real passion for the law and helping people, which is obvious from how she operates in her daily role.
This is Kim’s story in her own words:
From a young age the police/legal arena inspired me and this influence came from my parents who wanted to see me do well as an only child. I was born in Hertfordshire but grew-up in Manchester before I then moved back, to attend the University of Hertfordshire, where I studied for both my law degree and postgraduate diploma in legal practice (LPC). In my LPC I graduated with a distinction and then I knew I had what it took to be qualified!
I embarked upon a series of interviews with various firms and secured a training contract with a family run firm in Potters Bar Wason Lawrance Holder Solicitors. I loved my time there and I was treated as part of the family – I went from paralegal, trainee solicitor to qualified solicitor in my four years with the firm. After one year being qualified I felt it was time to move on and accept new challenges. I interviewed and was recruited for the job at Barnes and Partners.
A day in the life of me is a very varied. Dealing with emails, taking calls and meetings with my clients. I specialise in residential conveyancing new build acquisitions and some landlord and tenant advice. I can be doing anything from dealing with large scales of completions, once thirty in a day, to many exchanges of contracts. At the heart of everything I do is acting in my clients’ best interests – being the friendly, approachable and a reassuring voice at the end of the phone. I have seen the stresses and strains moving home can bring and I just want to make that process as easy as I can for my clients.
I love being a solicitor and I bring that passion to the table everyday. I love to help motivate my colleagues by making them laugh and I really enjoy the team spirit in our Stevenage office. I feel my colleagues at Stevenage are my work family. I would be lost without them; our latest recruit, my assistant Rebecca, has settled in seamlessly too and now she is such a support, as is everyone else.
It perhaps helps we have the perfect location working next door to a Wetherspoons and a Cinnabar as sometimes Friday after work drinks bring us all together too. An espresso martini is something I look forward to at the end of a busy week.
In terms of my home life, I live in Codicote – a little village near Stevenage.
My hobbies are pink, nails, hair and makeup. I’m a real girlie-girl, bows factor always in my outfit which stems from my childhood my great grandmother would always tie ribbons in my hair so I wasn’t mistaken for a boy as my hair didn’t grow until I was older. Since then I haven’t felt ready for my day without my bow or glittery hair clip. I like to dispel the myth that a solicitor has to look a certain way, and amongst my friends I am known as legally brunette!
Many thanks to Kim for sharing this with us. Her colleagues say: “from day one she has been nothing but helpful and always smiling”and “she is always teaching me new things and nothing is ever too much trouble.”Kim has a reputation for exceptional service and we are proud to say she has achieved completions for purchasers of new builds within extremely tight timeframes.
Want to ask Kim a question about new builds? Call on 0208 370 2800