Associate

It’s the people at Shakespeare Martineau that make us so special. By understanding what our people want, giving them the support they need, recognising everyone’s contribution and realising the unique power of teams, together we win.   As a firm we are focused on proactively building and developing diverse teams, bringing different backgrounds, personalities and perspectives together. We play to our strengths, pushing ourselves to be consistently better than yesterday and deliver amazing solutions for our clients. We empower our teams with a high degree of individual responsibility; we self-manage and encourage everyone to be responsible for their own learning, knowing it makes us even better at what we do!    

We believe in trusting our people to make the right decisions for themselves, from when and where you work, to how you dress; we focus on outputs.  

Check out our amazing benefits here

Our highly skilled and experienced Private Capital 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 Private Client team, including 13 members of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), provide a wide range of services and advice empowering families to define their unique long-term goals and legacy. We offer advice on the following areas of Private Client law: Capital Tax planning including advising on the most appropriate structures via Wills, Trusts & Family Investment Companies, the creation and administration of Trusts including tax compliance, accounting services and professional Trusteeship, administration of estates (simple to complex), Lasting Powers of Attorney and  Court of Protection work, the creation and administration of Charitable Foundations  and personal tax advice and compliance. Our clients’ profiles consist of family business owners, landed estates, newly acquired wealth, private individuals with inherited wealth and their families and Trustees of substantial trusts.

We are looking for an Associate to join our busy Private Client team in the Midlands.  You will deliver high quality legal services to clients on all aspects of wills, trusts and probate work. 

Your key duties will be:

• drafting and advising on both basic and more complex trusts, whether created by will or by lifetime gift, including reviewing existing trusts and will structures
• administering estates and trusts ranging in levels of complexity
• the appropriate liaison with investment managers and brokers
• attending and running client meetings
• providing advice to clients on estates.
• producing accounts for estate and trusts, including trustees minutes and executors meeting minutes
• driving business development within the team and promoting the private client practice with clients and contacts
• drafting and registering Lasting Powers of Attorney
• registering Enduring Powers of Attorney
• drafting declarations of trust
• drafting wills
• running management of affairs files where partner is appointed Attorney or Deputy
• completing applications to the Court of Protection to include the appointment of deputies

Skills and experience you will have:

This is a client facing role, so you will demonstrate client relationship experience and the ability to deal with sensitive issues.

• 5 years + PQE
• Experience of drafting, state administration, trust administration, agriculture estates, state account preparation, court of Protection, Office of the Public Guardian.
• good file management
• a willingness and enthusiasm to get involved in business development activities, ideally to able to demonstrate a proven track record of success in this area

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, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon and Sheffield. This role will be based between our Solihull and Stratford upon Avon hubs with the flexibility to work from home.

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.

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.