Shakespeare Martineau
Legal Director - Private Client
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Fast-track your private client leadership: Private Client Legal Director (Solicitor or FCILEx with 10+ years PQE)
Location: Leicester or Nottingham hub | Region: East Midlands
About the Role
Join our dynamic Private Client Legal Team as an experienced and motivated private client legal leader. You’ll shape the future of our London-based firm’s legal direction while delivering high-quality, high-profile advice across all aspects of private client law, from estate administration to capital tax strategy.
We’re looking for a technical expert with commercial insight—someone who excels at building relationships, mentoring juniors, and growing our A-list client base. If high accountability, agile working, and structured leadership align with your career goals, this is yours to seize.
Key Responsibilities
Core Legal Delivery
- Advise high-net-worth individuals, family business owners, and trust beneficiaries on:
- Inheritance tax planning & succession strategies
- Drafting and reviewing wills, trusts, lettings of wishes, and powers of attorney (including business POAs)
- Balfour-style business assessments and tax risk mitigation
- Lead complex estate administrations (simple to multi-million-pound portfolios)
- Oversee trust creation and accounting, including tax compliance filings
- Design and implement Charitable Foundations and Family Investment Company (FIC) structures
- Provide declaration of trust/shares guidance, shielding subscriptions, s116 notices, and complex tax return planning
- Manage Court of Protection and lasting powers of attorney (LPAs)
Leadership & Growth
- Supervise and mentor a junior legal team (non detalles—focus on advocacy and development)
- Shape the team’s future, adopting a collaborative but forward-thinking approach
- Business development: Actively participate in networking events and identify new business opportunities to grow revenue streams
- Maintain high standards of file management and time recording supporting firm systems
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Operational Flexibility
- Ready to travel across the UK hub network as demands arise
- Capable of working outside normal hours—part of the job when deadlines tighten
What We Need From You
Experience & Expertise
- Minimum 10 years’ PQE. Solicitor by qualification (or qualified FCILEx) with:
- Envelope to end-to-end private client experience, including:
- Drafter/ reviewer of Trust & Estate Accounts and Tax Returns
- Expertise in tax-efficient trust structures, accounting, and compliance
- Proven history of ESAs (Estate Liveships Accounts)
- High-profile clients (family-owned businesses, landed estates, inherited wealth holders)
- Envelope to end-to-end private client experience, including:
Attritbeutues
- A technical genius and a commercial tactician: Solid legal chops and the confidence to influence colleagues and clients.
- Leadership & mentoring: Willing to take ownership of junior supervision, instilling rigorous standards in concentrated ways.
- Business-savvy: Visionary intelligence to spot opportunities—self-driven, self-motivated.
- Stellar communication: Your written analysis and oral presentations punch within PQE 3+ juniors take notes.
- Unflappable multitasker: Approach pressure circumstances like air completing time-sensitive tasks with meticulous accuracy.
- **Initiative: **Forward-planning from presentations to onboarding—chaing problems before colleagues even do.
- Academical extrapolation: STEP-affiliated (or genuinely considering it). Full clean driving licence is mandatory; gratuitous travel may require it.
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Why This Role is Unbeatable
Compelling Benefits
Embrace our blended agile working model, aligned to where your best work thrives. Whether you’re far (!) from our Leicester or Nottingham builds hub, our tools support you—from client leadership to self-directed focus.
Our vibrant network spans major regional centres, enhancing collaboration and opportunities. Thriving Multi-location support (Nottingahn, Hildenhous, London and others) with full offers available!
Cultural Fit
We celebrate diversity—humanity isn’t measured by where employees log into Microsoft Teams or who they look like. Full equal opportunity promise; cultural add would be support from the inside/outside of idea flow.
Refer to our firm-wide commitment [Equal Opportunities Statement]етуKate,commit Our internal recruitment tests include efficient suitability alignment—load onto evening basics fit, honest ahead.
Next Steps
Your finance should include a cover page outlining precise reasoning why this role proves evolution for your legal career. Let’s discuss how you’ll shape our top-tier private client practice.
If high standards aren’t enough to entice you, we’ll leverage other cemented offsets and earned specifics.
[Apply Today] will tie in all externally reviewed applicant checks: criminal, QDA and credentials (including STEP fundamentals after approval). (Check incomplete ensure timeline adjustments.
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