43 How have the skills you gained in your previous roles helped you as a notary? Very often, when you become a notary, you have already been a notary for years! For me, the training offered in family law, real estate law and business law to obtain the diploma is too restrictive. In reality, to make your office prosper, you have to be even more versatile and master all possible French and foreign law to understand and act effectively with our customers, a clientele that is becoming more and more international. You also need to know how to communicate pleasantly and effectively with your customers, perfectly manage your agenda, master your accounting and personalise the management of your team. I was able to complete my training as a notary because of the trades I worked in before. Notary training is evolving. It seems to me that accounting and management are now integrated into training, and that is a good thing. Finally, what is not learned at school, but which is learned in the field, is the customer relationship. To me, this idea is essential. It encompasses our behaviour towards the customers and our dedication to be even more precise. It is thanks to my different professional experiences that I can today adapt my interventions according to the requests of my customers and always find them a solution or an answer to their request, even if these requests go beyond the notarial framework. We must listen to our customers and get out of our comfort zone to always provide them with an answer. What do you have planned for the future of your practice? I am delighted to belong to the most modern legal profession in France, an electronic deed for 10 years, and today remotely signing authentic deeds by videoconference, the notaries of France are proud of the technology they put at the service of their customers. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped a lot to make this leap forward and we no longer hesitate to use new means to facilitate the “notarial life” of our clients. I have planned for my office to be constantly evolving, from decoration to computer systems! I want a local office where each client is unique and is considered as such. I am constantly looking to improve my practice and the image of my profession. I want to be one of the best offices in my area. I do not run behind the labels; for me they do not mean anything and do not necessarily testify to real quality. What makes the quality of the service is down to your motivation, your desire and your personality. Not everyone can exercise this profession; it is a profession that wetake on as a vocation. What compelled you to become a notary when the ‘Macron Law’ passed? I always wanted to become a notary, but I was discouraged by knowing that I would never have the opportunity to have my own office because I could not find an association with other notaries. I did not really want to associate and I did not want to pass the competition (of the second possible route to becoming a notary) because I felt that this competition was not legitimate after seven years of practice and obtaining the notary diploma. Then when I obtained my diploma and the validation of my 24-month internship in 2016, the Macron Law abolished the competition and allowed me to apply for the creation of an office simply on the internet via a new portal set up by the Ministry of Justice. I felt that this was the only opportunity to realise my dream of becoming a notary and finally create my office. What motivates you to achieve the best possible results for your clients? I am generally very demanding about customer service in my personal life, whether in the restaurant, in the hotel, or for all the daily services we need. I was also a client of a notary office and the service was not up to my expectations, so I always told myself that if one day I was the holder of my own office I would do better and I will try to understand and remedy the shortcomings of these offices: waiting time, physical and telephone reception, quality of consultations, staff training etc. I learned a lot from my internship and I observed and understood a lot of things that should not be done! Customers expect a warm, fast and very professional welcome from us. This implies that it requires a highly qualified staff and a very sharp level of organisation in the company. When I created my office in 2018, I was obsessed with organisation and reception: emails and contacts had to be perfectly managed without duplicates and with perfect fluidity and competence. Every day, I teach my staff the effectiveness of their interventions whether orally or by email. We need to respond to customers accurately and quickly. I am a notary, but above all a business leader very concerned about the quality of the notarial service given. I want my clients to be the best informed and accompanied in their projects in every detail. The quality of the service in my office is an absolute priority; the drafting of the acts, which is nevertheless important, comes second in my opinion because the clients attach more importance to our behaviour with them and our oral explanations than the technicality of the written acts that we make them sign.
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