Contested Probate Solicitor

Are you a solicitor with at least five years’ post-qualification experience looking for a contentious probate role? Join our Contentious Probate department to provide high-quality legal advice across a varied caseload of inheritance, estate and trust matters. Reporting to Mike Clary, Head of Department, you will have support from a legal secretary and our administration team, with the ability to work from home alongside working in a team-based office environment.

The role

You will manage matters from initial instruction through to completion with minimal supervision, keeping clients informed and managing their expectations throughout. Your work will include contentious and related non-contentious matters, including:

• 1975 Act claims, acting for both claimants and defendants.
• Probate disputes involving allegations of forgery, testamentary capacity and undue influence.
• Disputes concerning the validity and construction of trust documents.
• Matters involving allegations of fraud.
• Acting for executors in a neutral capacity.
• Proprietary estoppel and constructive trust claims.
• Drafting settlement agreements.

What you’ll bring

• Admission to the Roll of Solicitors and a current, unrestricted practising certificate.
• At least five years’ post-qualification experience, with professional training and development requirements up to date.
• The ability to manage multiple matters, meet deadlines and assess and minimise risk.
• A commitment to high-quality client care and to working in accordance with Law Society, Lexcel and Solicitors Regulation Authority standards.
• A commercially focused approach to achieving agreed fee targets, accurate time recording, regular billing and recovery of fees.
• A willingness to contribute to winning new clients, marketing and building the department’s profile.

Support and ways of working

You will work with legal secretarial and administrative support, with monthly file reviews by the Head of Department in line with Lexcel standards. You will use Tikit to create and save documents and manage files through to closure, alongside Microsoft Windows, Outlook, Winscribe digital dictation and Oyez legal forms.