3+PQE Private Client Solicitor/Senior Associate
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Are you Looking to work with an award-winning local firm that puts their clients and staff at the forefront of all they do?
We are excited to be looking for a Private Client Solicitor/Senior Associate to join a growing, friendly and supportive team.
Experience & Skills
- Achieve billing, time and fee earning targets set and co-operate with the firm’s credit control arrangements
- Proven project and time management skills
- A confident and professional manner
- Work effectively within a team but also as a leader
- Be professional, organised, competent, enthusiastic, and ambitious.
- Be able to work independently and as part of a team with other fee earners, providing advice and assistance whenever needed to develop knowledge and skills within the rest of the team.
Good experience in all areas of Private Client.
Benefits:
- Agile working (up to 40% working from home)
- 25 days' holiday (FTE) (plus statutory holidays)
- Pension scheme
- Death-in-service/Life assurance benefit scheme
- Critical illness insurance cover
- Eye care voucher
- A structured career progression plan tailored to you and with the aim of enabling you to achieve your career goals and ambitions including up to Partnership.
Salary dependant on experience
For more information, please apply with your CV.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your Private Client specialism prominently in your Personal Statement — the advert lists 'good experience in all areas of Private Client' as a core requirement.
📊 Quantify your billing performance: e.g. 'Consistently achieved 95% of monthly fee-earning targets across a 12-month period, billing £180k annually'.
🎯 Explicitly state your PQE level (3+ years) in your CV header or profile — the role title signals this is a hard filter for the hiring team.
🤝 Include a bullet demonstrating team leadership or mentoring of junior fee earners, as the advert specifically asks candidates to 'provide advice and assistance to develop knowledge within the rest of the team'.
🌐 Mention any experience with agile or hybrid working arrangements, as the firm offers up to 40% home working and will value candidates who can demonstrate effective remote practice management.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Managed a caseload of 80+ active private client files including complex probate estates valued at over £2M, consistently achieving 100% of monthly billing targets across 18 months.
- •Drafted and executed wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, and trust deeds for 150+ clients annually, reducing average matter turnaround time by 20% through improved precedent management.
- •Mentored 2 trainee solicitors in private client practice, delivering fortnightly case review sessions that contributed to both trainees passing their seat assessments with commendation.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Reed
Dear Hiring Manager,
Private client law is the area where I have built my practice since qualification, and the opportunity to join your award-winning Peterborough firm as a Private Client Solicitor/Senior Associate is one I am keen to pursue. With 3+ years of post-qualification experience across wills, probate, and trust administration, I have a strong track record of meeting fee-earning targets and delivering technically sound advice to a varied client base.
My background in private client work has equipped me with the skills to manage complex estates independently whilst supporting junior colleagues in developing their own expertise — precisely the dual responsibility your advert describes. I am comfortable working to billing targets and credit control arrangements, and I take a structured approach to file management that keeps matters progressing efficiently.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you manage a complex probate matter from instruction through to estate distribution, and what tools do you use to track progress?
- ›Can you walk us through your approach to drafting a will for a client with a blended family and potential inheritance tax considerations?
- ›How do you ensure compliance with the SRA Code of Conduct when managing a high volume of private client files?
- ›What experience do you have advising on Lasting Powers of Attorney, and how do you handle capacity concerns?
- ›How do you approach billing targets and time recording — what systems or habits do you use to stay on track?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to manage a particularly complex or sensitive client matter — how did you handle it?
- ›Describe a situation where you supported or mentored a junior colleague — what was the outcome?
- ›Give an example of when you had to balance competing deadlines across multiple files. How did you prioritise?
- ›Tell me about a time you identified an improvement to a team process or working practice. What did you do?
- ›Describe a situation where a client was unhappy with the progress of their matter. How did you manage their expectations?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to manage a particularly complex or sensitive client matter — how did you handle it?
Describe a situation where you supported or mentored a junior colleague — what was the outcome?