BUCYRUS – Lori Stoll knows the “legalese” of working in a law firm. She’s done it for 40 years.
Stoll, who was hired right out of high school at age 18, recently celebrated her 40th year at Kennedy, Purdy, Hoeffel & Gernert, LLC in Bucyrus. Some thought the decorated sheet cake in the office meant she was retiring, but not this longtime legal assistant.
“I don’t want to hear the word ‘retirement.’ It was just a celebration,” said her boss, attorney Terry Gernert, who ordered the chocolate and white cake with the “Peanuts” comic strip theme. “It was for somebody that’s been a good employee for so long.”
Stoll, a Wynford High School graduate, was actually hired by Gernert, who has been with the firm since 1979.
But during her tenure, she’s had the opportunity to work for other lawyers, including Paul Kennedy, Clarence Purdy, Paul Hoeffel, and Ken Beddow.
“I applied, and that’s how I got the job. I came in and interviewed for it,” Stoll said. “A lot of people would say I’m a legal assistant, but I’m old school. I just say, secretary. I wear a lot of hats.”
In the beginning, the firm was above Farmer’s Citizens Bank downtown. Stoll said she took dictation and typed legal documents needed for criminal cases, divorces, and dissolutions. “When I started, we didn’t have computers or anything. We had just a typewriter, and it didn’t even have a correction tape.”
The office eventually upgraded to self-correcting models, Stoll said, then word processors, computers, and a FAX machine. It was on-the-job learning. “Fortunately, we had good people here that helped me, and we got training on the computer.”
Nowadays, the law practice at 111 West Rensselaer Street deals primarily in personal injury cases, estate planning, trusts, and wills, Stoll said. She is responsible for payroll, bank deposits, and court filings, among other duties. “It’s kind of changed. It’s not boring at all.”
When she’s not at work, the busy mother of two spends time at Lake Erie with her husband, Steve, and with their grandsons, five-month-old Theo and Jaxon, a second-grade student at Wynford Elementary School, who she drops off at school every morning.
Although the message on her cake read, “A good secretary is worth celebrating,” Stoll is quick to give credit elsewhere and to other longtime secretaries at the firm for showing her the ropes, especially Kay Graham, Mary McMichael, and Nikki Dowler.
“The attorneys here have always been very nice people and easy to work with, so that’s why I’ve probably stayed here as long as I have,” she said. “But mostly, I like the clients and helping people.”