Senior Family Lawyer

FRANKLINS SOLICITORS LLP; Northampton, Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Career progression

Support for Family Law accreditation

Client cross-referral opportunities

Job summary

Franklins Solicitors LLP is seeking an experienced Senior Family Lawyer to join its Family Law team. The role involves managing a private family caseload, developing a specialist practice, and potentially building a sub-department within the team.

You will work with the Head of Department in a hybrid model, with a focus on high-quality client care, advocacy when required, and developing junior colleagues. Strong business acumen and a drive for career progression are encouraged.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ post-qualification experience in private family law
• Strong experience in matrimonial finances and financial remedy proceedings
• Experience handling high-net-worth matters and TOLATA disputes
• Experience with private child arrangements and maintenance matters
• Appropriate advocacy experience and rights of audience relevant to the role
• Ability to manage complex matters independently and confidently
• Excellent client-care and communication skills

Responsibilities

• Manage a private family caseload from instruction to conclusion
• Provide clear, pragmatic advice and high standard of client care
• Undertake advocacy where appropriate
• Mentor and supervise junior lawyers
• Develop and grow your own area of specialist practice within the team
• Contribute to business development and marketing efforts

Skills

Private Family Law experience

Advocacy rights

Client care

Leadership potential

Education

Solicitor or CILEX Lawyer

Job description

Franklins Solicitors LLP is looking for an experienced and ambitious Senior Family Lawyer to join our Family Law team. We welcome applications from Solicitors and appropriately qualified CILEX Lawyers with advocacy rights who have significant experience in private family law.

This is an opportunity for an accomplished family lawyer who is looking for more than simply their next fee-earning role. Alongside managing a private family caseload, the successful candidate will have scope to develop their own area of specialism and, over time, build and grow a sub-department within our wider Family team.

We are particularly interested in hearing from lawyers who combine strong technical expertise with excellent client care, commercial awareness and the ambition to develop their own team and professional profile. You will ideally have experience across matrimonial finances, high-net-worth matters, TOLATA disputes, child arrangements and maintenance, together with the confidence to manage matters independently and support the development of more junior members of the team.

A career development opportunity:We want this role to provide the right lawyer with a platform for long-term career progression at Franklins. As well as becoming an important senior member of our Family team, you will have the opportunity to identify and develop an area in which you can build a recognised specialist practice. This could involve expanding an existing area of expertise, developing a new service offering, strengthening professional referral relationships or, ultimately, recruiting and developing a team around your chosen specialism.

You will work closely with the Head of Department and the wider firm, with the opportunity to influence the future development of our Family Law offering. As your practice develops, there will be scope to take on greater leadership, supervisory and business-development responsibility, with career progression aligned to your contribution and success.

Hybrid Working

We recognise that experienced lawyers value both flexibility and the benefits of working collaboratively with colleagues. Our hybrid working arrangement for this role is 3 days per week in the office (primary base Milton Keynes with ad hoc days in Northampton) and 2 days working remotely.

This provides meaningful flexibility while ensuring that you remain connected to the Family team, colleagues across the firm and our clients. There will naturally be occasions when client meetings, court hearings or other professional commitments determine where you need to work.

The Role

You will manage your own portfolio of private family law matters from initial instruction through to conclusion, providing clear, pragmatic advice and delivering an excellent standard of client care. Your responsibilities will include:

• Advising on divorce and separation
• Advising on matrimonial finances, including complex and high-net-worth financial matters
• Advising on TOLATA and property disputes between unmarried couples
• Advising on cohabitation, pre and post nuptial arrangements
• Advising on child arrangements, maintenance and related private children matters
• Managing matters independently from initial instruction through to completion
• Undertaking advocacy where appropriate to your qualification, experience and rights of audience
• Conducting client meetings both in person and remotely
• Attending court hearings and other external appointments as required
• Building strong and trusted relationships with clients and professional contacts
• Supporting, mentoring and supervising trainees, newly qualified lawyers and junior colleagues
• Contributing to the development and growth of the Family department, including active involvement with marketing such as LinkedIn, videos and podcasts
• Identifying opportunities to develop your own specialist area of practice
• Developing relationships with professional referrers and participating in networking and business-development activities
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across Franklins and identifying opportunities to introduce clients to other services offered by the firm
• Maintaining high standards of file management, compliance and time recording
• Taking responsibility for time recording, monthly billing and agreed performance targets

About You

We are looking for an experienced private family lawyer with 5+ years’ post-qualification experience who is ready to take the next step in their career. You may be a Solicitor or an appropriately qualified CILEX Lawyer with advocacy rights. What matters to us is the quality and depth of your experience, your approach to clients and your ambition for the next stage of your career. You will ideally be able to demonstrate:

• 5+ years’ post-qualification experience, with substantial experience in private family law
• Strong experience in matrimonial finance and financial remedy proceedings
• Experience of acting for high-net-worth clients and dealing with complex financial arrangements
• Experience of TOLATA disputes
• Experience of private child arrangements and maintenance matters
• Appropriate advocacy experience and rights of audience relevant to the role
• The ability to manage complex matters independently and confidently
• Excellent client-care and communication skills
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Experience of, or an interest in, supervising and developing junior lawyers
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of the importance of developing sustainable client and referral relationships
• An interest in business development and growing your own practice
• A collaborative approach and willingness to contribute to the wider success of the department and firm
• A full driving licence and ability to attend external appointments when required

Professional Development & Accreditation

We are committed to supporting the continued professional development of the successful candidate. Existing Resolution membership and specialist Family Law accreditation would be welcomed but are not prerequisites for the role.

Where the successful candidate does not already hold an appropriate specialist accreditation, we will support and encourage them to work towards achieving recognised Family Law accreditation, including relevant Resolution accreditation where appropriate to their chosen area of specialism. This forms part of our wider commitment to helping the successful candidate develop a recognised area of expertise and build their professional profile. We want the person joining us to continue developing as a specialist, with the firm’s support and investment behind them.

What We Offer

At Franklins, we want talented lawyers to have the opportunity to build rewarding, long-term careers. For this role, we offer:

• Hybrid working: 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely
• Scope for longer-term career progression
• The opportunity to develop and grow your own specialist area or sub-department within the wider Family team
• Support and investment to achieve relevant Family Law accreditation
• Support to develop your professional profile and referral network
• Opportunities for business development, networking and profile raising
• Access to an established client base and cross-referral opportunities from other departments within the firm
• The opportunity to supervise, mentor and develop junior lawyers
• Ongoing investment in your professional and career development
• A professional, friendly and collaborative working environment
• The resources and support of an established regional law firm

About Franklins

Established in 1982, Franklins Solicitors LLP is an established regional law firm with offices in Central Milton Keynes and Northampton and a team of more than 100 people.

We provide a comprehensive range of legal services to individuals and businesses, including Corporate Services, Commercial Property, Debt Recovery, Dispute Resolution, Employment Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Residential Property, Mediation and Wills, Trusts and Probate.

We are proud to have achieved ISO 9001 and The Law Society’s Lexcel accreditation, reflecting our commitment to high standards of client service and practice management. Our values, Passion, Excellence, Trust and United, are at the heart of the way we work.

We believe our people are our greatest strength. We are committed to recognising and developing talented individuals, providing opportunities for progression and enabling our people to build fulfilling careers while delivering first-class service to our clients.

Why This Role?

For an experienced Family Lawyer considering their next career move, this opportunity offers an attractive combination: competitive remuneration, hybrid working, investment in your professional accreditation, career progression, and the opportunity to build something of your own within the security and support of an established law firm.

We are looking for someone who wants to develop with us, not simply fill a vacancy. If you are ambitious about the next stage of your career and would like the opportunity to develop your specialist expertise and potentially build and lead your own area of practice within a successful Family team, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Franklins Solicitors LLP is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from suitably qualified candidates from all backgrounds.

Please note: Due to the number of applications we receive, we may not be able to respond individually to every applicant. If you have not heard from us within two weeks of submitting your application, unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion.