Solicitor / Associate - Family

Our highly skilled and experienced Wealth group provide a wide range of services and advice empowering families to define their unique long-term goals and legacy. We undertake various Family and Private client work at all levels and across many sectors.

Our specialist Family team combine unsurpassed expertise with a sound understanding of Family law to provide exceptional solutions for every aspect of our clients' needs. Our family lawyers are ranked in the top band/tier of Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. We provide advice to clients at every stage of their lives, whether they are planning for their own futures or making sure their loved ones are looked after. We assist clients with the planning, preparation and drafting of living together and pre and post nuptial agreements as well as guiding them sensitively through the complexities of divorce, finance and matters relating to children. We are very much at the coal-face of Family Law and fully committed to Resolution and the Law Society.

What you will be doing:

We are looking for a 2-5yr PQE Solicitor to join our Leicester based Family team, part of the firm's wider Wealth Group.

You will be involved in all areas of family law, servicing clients with domestic and international needs and in growing a successful family offering.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly driven and enthusiastic individual to provide a quality service to clients, with exposure to high-quality work and a supportive team. You will have a passion for family law, along with a real willingness to further the expertise you will already have gained from previous exposure to this area.

Flexibility is required in terms of hours worked and also ability to travel to other locations; some weekend or evening work may be required.

Your key duties will be:

• working alongside senior lawyers to provide assistance on a wide range of family work; this includes assisting in all aspects of Divorce, Financial Applications (for cohabitees, spouses and civil partners), Children Act Applications (including Schedule 1), assisting with drafting Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements
• to have a high degree of client contact, both in person and virtual
• attending court hearings/arbitrations/round table meetings when required
• assisting the team with driving marketing strategies to attract new clients and developing relationships with current clients and referrers

What you will need:

• up to 5 years' previous experience in family law, with particular exposure to Financial Remedy and Children Act Applications
• drafting skills such as court applications, preliminary documents and detailed letters of advice to clients, statements and briefs to counsel
• strong IT skills
• strong legal analytical and advocacy skills
• a high level of accuracy and attention to detail, with excellent verbal and written communication skills

Key competencies you will need:

• a willingness to find practical and innovative solutions to a range of problems
• to be personable and have experience of dealing with a broad range of clients
• to be willing to attend marketing/networking events and contribute to marketing publications to develop the profile of the team
• a high degree of initiative, with the ability to work well under pressure and deal efficiently with demanding workloads
• excellent organisational and prioritising skills
• the ability to work in a very fast-paced team
• be a team player, willing to work in a consistent way in line with the groups policies and procedures and share legal knowledge
• a willingness to develop and expand knowledge within the skills base and to undertake appropriate knowledge and skills training, as required

About you – you will be:

• highly enthusiastic, willing to go the extra mile and be happy to go beyond the job description
• respectful towards others and have a positive, willing and 'can do' attitude
• keen to learn, interested in driving your own career progression and be proactive in taking ownership of this

Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information

We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work.

We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we're keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it.

We have hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln and Sheffield.

This role is being recruited on a hybrid basis from our Leicester hub.

Want to find out more about our amazing benefits?

Additional information:

Please be aware, for some vacancies, where we receive high numbers of applications we may need to bring the close date forward.

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.

Equal opportunities

Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.