Litigation / Disputes Partner

William James Recruitment; Greater London; On-site; GBP 450,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

We are instructed by an established international law firm expanding its London platform with a focus on Commercial Litigation and cross-border growth. This is an opportunity for a Litigation/Disputes Partner to join a well‑established platform and invest in London growth, with scope to lead teams and build meaningful practices around them.

Ideal candidates will bring genuinely portable business, strong relationships with major corporate or financial institution clients, and a credible track

Qualifications

• Genuinely portable business is required.
• Strong client relationships and origination are essential.
• Credible track record in cross-border work with major clients.

Responsibilities

• Develop and grow the London disputes practice, building teams around you.
• Lead initiatives to expand the firm's platform in London with sustainable economics.

Skills

Portable business

Client origination

Cross-border work

Team leadership

Growth strategy

Job description

We are instructed by an established international law firm that is entering an ambitious new phase of growth in London.

The firm has made clear that it wants to be significantly more aggressive in developing its London platform, with Commercial Litigation the clearest immediate priorities, alongside further growth across Corporate / Finance / Real Estate Finance and Construction.

As part of that strategy, the firm is looking to appoint established Partners and teams who can bring genuine, portable business and help build meaningful practices around them.

For the right Litigation / Disputes Partner, this represents an opportunity to join a well-established platform at a point where there is real appetite to invest in London, rather than simply joining an established office with limited scope for growth.

What They Are Looking For

Particularly attractive candidates will have:

• Genuinely portable business
• Strong individual client relationships and origination
• Major corporate or financial institution clients
• A credible track record of cross-border work
• The ability to build a team around their practice
• A clear and realistic strategy for what they could build over the next 2-5 years

The firm is also open to team moves, particularly where a Partner can bring the people required to service and grow the practice.

The London Strategy

The ambition is to build a substantially deeper London office, with the firm looking beyond individual lateral hires towards practices and teams that can materially increase the capability of the platform.

For Litigation / Disputes, the focus is on lawyers who are genuine commercial litigators - Partners who have been involved in complex High Court disputes and have the experience, relationships and appetite to build a significant practice.

The Culture

The partnership is flat, collaborative, commercially minded and relationship-led, with relatively low levels of hierarchy. The firm is looking for Partners who are entrepreneurial, hard-working and comfortable taking ownership of their practice, while also seeing the value in collaborating across offices and practice areas. There is genuine appetite to grow, but also a clear focus on quality of business and sustainable economics. The firm wants to invest behind Partners who can demonstrate what they will bring and how they can build from it.

The Ideal Candidate

We are particularly interested in speaking with:

• Partners with significant High Court and complex commercial litigation experience
• Small teams with a credible portable practice
• Lawyers who can demonstrate both existing economics and a compelling future growth story