Senior Associate - Family

Moore Barlow is currently seeking a Senior Associate (Solicitor or Legal Executive) to join our Family Team based in Richmond. Situated near to main high street and station, our modern new offices provide a brilliant space for collaborative working. This opportunity is offered on a ‘hybrid’ basis with some time spent each week in the office (approximately 3 days) with the remainder from home.

More about us:

Formed via a merger in 2020, Moore Barlow is a leading law firm and we aim to be the best law firm to work for regionally. We are a career firm, providing access to high quality work, long-term career opportunities and an environment built on the premise of being ‘human first’. In this instance, support and progression to Partnership is available for applicants keen to progress. Put simply, we care as much about your career as you do.

We are featured in The Times’ Best Law Firms 2024 list, and consistently achieve recognition for the quality of our services in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

We are now 450 people, including 280 lawyers and 58 Partners, with offices across the South-East and London.

Day to Day:

The Richmond family team has one partner, one associate and one paralegal.  We are looking for a Senior Associate, who will develop and manage a caseload of high-value and complex family matters, whilst assisting the partner and playing a vital role in the supervision and continued growth of the team based in Richmond. We promote a healthy work life balance which allows our people to manage their various responsibilities in a way that is sustainable for the long term. This leads to better outcomes for our clients as well as a great place to work.  

Our Family Team, is a leading team in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. We provide a supportive and collaborative service, believing that our services should be focused on achieving the right outcome. Whilst the preferred candidate will demonstrate excellent previous experience in the field of family law, they’ll also gain exposure to some of the innovations we have made to deliver great outcomes for our Clients. Here’s some more information on our team:

• We are a large, experienced team handling HNW/complex work with offices in London, Richmond, Woking, Guildford, Southampton and Lymington which makes us ideally placed to act for clients in the HNW hubs of London and the Home Counties.

• Finance: We regularly deal with HNW/complex financial remedy both in and out of the Court system. Our financial remedy matters are frequently complex, and include trusts, non marital assets, business structures, pensions and inherited wealth, as well as more volatile assets such as stocks and shares. We often act for international clients and many of the cases have an international element.

• Family agreements: either pre or post-nuptial but also for cohabitants.  We also where appropriate, secure “mirror” agreements in other jurisdictions. 

• Non-Court Dispute Resolution: There are 4 collaboratively trained lawyers in the team and 4 mediators and we emphasise the NCDR route wherever possible.

• Accord - one couple, one lawyer, one aim:  In October 2022, we launched this scheme, which enables clients who are not in conflict to instruct the same lawyer to handle their divorce / separation and related financial and children matters, greatly streamlining matters and ultimately leading to more efficient routes to agreed outcomes.

• Modern families: We often advise on cohabitation agreements, as well as dealing with cohabiting couples separating, specialising in financial remedy applications for cohabitants including Schedule 1 and TLATA.  This is a niche area of family law where some firms lack expertise.   We also are leaders in the area for surrogacy matters.

• We also undertake complex private children law disputes.

Our team always strives to achieve the best possible outcomes for clients, which often involves taking a constructive non-confrontational approach and avoiding court proceedings wherever possible.

This a brilliant opportunity for an experienced Family Lawyer to join the team as a Senior Associate and be provided with the ongoing development and support necessary for them to progress towards Partnership.

What we look for:

• A qualified Solicitor or Legal Executive experienced in the field of Family Law. We are looking for an individual used to managing a broad range of family issues. Candidates with experience of complex financial matters as well as complex children disputes, often with an international focus are especially encouraged to apply.  

• You will have built a professional network and be able to demonstrate your business development skills.

• You will be working with a team committed to the Resolution Code of Practice and the preferred candidate will work the same way. 

• Being accredited either by Resolution or the Law Society would be advantageous.

• We don’t tend to use PQE as the sole measure of experience. As such, we are keen to hear from individuals who are currently, or feel ready to take on a role at Senior Associate level with a desire to progress to Partnership in time. 

• We are human-first in everything we do and seek people who share this trait. You'll therefore have great communication skills, a passion for helping clients achieve their goals and the ability to think creatively.

• Whilst this position is offered full-time, we offer a split of working from home and in the office, we are a flexible team and are open to considering alternative working patterns.

If you have the required skills and experience, and are keen to advance your career as part of our leading Family Team, then we strongly encourage you to apply.

If you would like to learn more about this opportunity before applying, please contact Brandon Duchesne, Talent Acquisition Manager, for an informal conversation - brandon.duchesne@moorebarlow.com.