Tax & Trusts Knowledge Lawyer

Stevens & Bolton LLP; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm in Guildford seeks a Tax & Trusts Knowledge Lawyer to support its practice with a focus on legal development, training, and resource management. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in UK tax and estate planning, with excellent communication and research skills. This role offers flexible working options in a supportive and ambitious environment, encouraging personal and professional growth.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Collaborative work environment

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Established private client knowledge lawyer with a strong background in UK tax and estate planning.
• Ability to convey complex legal concepts clearly and concisely.
• Experience in drafting in plain language.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and expand a suite of precedents and guidance notes.
• Deliver relevant knowhow and team training sessions.
• Support business development initiatives.

Skills

Outstanding oral and written communication skills

Excellent legal research skills

Attention to detail

Proactive workload management

Strong presentation skills

Education

Membership of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

Job description

Tax & Trusts Knowledge Lawyer

Full-time or Part-time

The Role

We are recruiting a Knowledge Lawyer to support our Tax & Trusts practice. If you have excellent private client experience within a quality practice and are looking to join a growing, dynamic team, working within an ambitious yet supportive environment, this role might be a good fit for you.

Led by five partners, and supported by around 15 further lawyers, accountants and paralegals, the team is highly respected in the market, being ranked in the top tier by the legal directories. We are one of the few teams to be listed in the London section of The Legal 500 without a London presence. We act for a broad spectrum of national and international clients. Many are affluent families based in Surrey and the South East, but our client base also includes Sunday Times Rich List individuals, globally wealthy families, trustees, family offices, landowners, business owners and entrepreneurs. We work closely with, and benefit from the experience of, our colleagues in the Contentious Trusts and Estates, and Family, teams, leading to a wide variety of interesting and challenging work.

The Knowledge Lawyer role is a key role, sitting at the heart of the team, and the right candidate will be proactive, with a drive for excellence, yet approachable and friendly, forming good relationships with team members at all levels. The focus of the role is to provide support to the team by developing and managing its precedents, knowhow and training programmes as well as helping to manage internal projects to enhance our client service and increase efficiencies.

We will consider applications from candidates looking to work on a full-time or part-time basis (minimum three days). As a firm we work flexibly and remote/hybrid working is available, with employees encouraged to be in the office at least two days per week (pro-rated for part-time workers)

Key responsibilities

• Maintaining and expanding a comprehensive suite of precedents and guidance notes for use by the team, ensuring they are up-to-date and easily accessible.
• Staying up-to-date with important legal developments in our key areas and communicating these to the team.
• Formulating (and delivering, where necessary) a regular programme of engaging and relevant knowhow and team training sessions.
• Providing specialist practical and technical support to the team, including assisting with research and acting as a sounding board on complex or esoteric points of law or practice.
• Managing the team’s learning & development plans (including for trainees and new joiners) and supporting delivery.
• Supporting our business development initiatives as appropriate, including contributing to strategy discussions based on current awareness, and helping to scope and implement identified internal projects.
• Drafting client-focused articles, thought leadership pieces and briefing notes.
• Keeping up-to-date with legal technology solutions and assisting with implementation.
• Liaising with the firm’s Information Services Officer to ensure the team has access to a comprehensive suite of relevant resources.
• Liaising with Knowledge Lawyers from across the firm on cross-departmental issues and initiatives.

Qualifications and Experience

Our ideal candidate will be an established private client knowledge lawyer with a strong background in UK and (preferably) international tax and estate planning, trusts and other asset holding structures, lasting powers of attorney and other advance care planning, and estate administration. We will also consider experienced private client fee earners with strong relevant experience, who are looking to transition into a knowledge lawyer role.

You will need to demonstrate that you are or have:

• Highly personable, with a desire to work with people at all levels and roles; a flexible and cooperative approach
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex legal concepts clearly and concisely
• The ability to quickly gain the confidence of lawyers at all levels
• Excellent legal research skills with the ability to analyse and interpret complex legal issues
• Excellent attention to detail
• Experience in drafting in plain language
• Strong presentation skills
• Experience in designing and delivering training programmes (desirable)
• Membership of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (desirable)
• Proactive, able to manage own workload, set priorities and set and meet deadlines.

The Firm

The Firm

Stevens & Bolton – making a positive difference to your career

You’ll work with people who listen, and who actively and willingly support one another within a collaborative and engaging environment. We genuinely care about our people and strive to build and maintain a diverse, inclusive and happy workforce.

We are recognised as a top firm in The Times Best Law Firms 2025, shortlisted for “Law Firm of the Year: The Independents” at The Lawyer Awards 2025 and shortlisted for “Regional/Offshore Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2025. The Firm was recently named “Law firm of the year” at the 2025 Legal Cheek Awards, was shortlisted for “ESG Initiative of the Year” at The Women, Influence & Power in Law UK 2024 Awards and shortlisted for “UK Law Firm of the Year - Small/Mid-Sized Firm” at the British Legal Awards 2023. Our refurbished office has been awarded a RICS SKA silver certificate and a 2-star Fitwel accreditation.

We’ve made excellence the hallmark of our firm: in the clear advice we give, in the enduring client relationships we build and in our proactive and highly responsive service. We seek to recruit people who will help us maintain and build on this, and in return we offer excellent long-term career and development opportunities.

Diversity & Inclusion

We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I). This drives a strategy which focuses on constant promotion of an inclusive culture that encourages everyone to realise their full potential and be themselves at work. Previously we have been shortlisted for “Best D&I Initiative” at The HR Awards and for “Best Talent and Inclusion Initiative” at The Lawyer Awards.