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.
⭐ Open your Personal Statement with your PQE level and Private Client specialism explicitly stated — the advert's title calls out '3+PQE' as the primary filter, so lead with 'Private Client Solicitor with X years PQE' in your first line.
📊 Quantify your billing performance: e.g. 'Consistently achieved 95% of monthly billing target of £12,000, contributing to team revenue of £480k annually' — the advert lists billing targets as the first required skill.
🎯 List specific Private Client practice areas (Wills, Probate, Trusts, LPAs, Estate Administration) as a skills section — the advert requires 'good experience in all areas of Private Client'.
🤝 Include a bullet demonstrating team leadership or mentoring junior fee earners, as the advert explicitly asks candidates to 'provide advice and assistance to develop knowledge within the rest of the team'.
🌐 Highlight any experience with agile or hybrid working arrangements and independent caseload management, as the firm offers up to 40% home working and values the ability to work independently.
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 85 active Private Client matters simultaneously, achieving 97% of monthly billing targets over 12 consecutive months and contributing £156k to annual team revenue.
- •Drafted and executed over 120 Wills and 60 Lasting Powers of Attorney annually, including complex inheritance tax planning structures for estates valued above £1.2M.
- •Mentored 2 junior fee earners in Probate and Trust administration, reducing file review time by 25% and improving team billing efficiency by £18k per quarter.
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 career, and the 3+PQE Senior Associate role at your West Northamptonshire firm stands out for its structured partnership-track progression and breadth of Private Client work. With proven experience across Wills, Probate, Trusts, and Lasting Powers of Attorney, and a consistent record of meeting billing targets, I am well placed to contribute to your growing team from day one.
My background in Private Client practice has equipped me with the technical depth and client-facing confidence this role demands. I have managed complex estate administrations through to final distribution, advised clients on inheritance tax planning, and supported junior colleagues in developing their own Private Client knowledge — directly mirroring the collaborative, leadership-oriented culture your firm describes.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you manage a complex estate administration from grant of probate through to final distribution, and what systems do you use to track progress?
- ›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 credit control arrangements while maintaining positive client relationships?
- ›What is your experience with Lasting Powers of Attorney, and how do you advise clients on the differences between property/financial and health/welfare LPAs?
- ›How do you stay current with changes in Private Client law, such as updates to inheritance tax thresholds or trust legislation?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you consistently met or exceeded billing targets — what strategies did you use?
- ›Describe a situation where you had to lead a team or mentor a junior colleague on a complex Private Client matter.
- ›Give an example of when you managed a high volume of caseload independently — how did you prioritise and organise your work?
- ›Tell me about a difficult client situation in Private Client work and how you handled it professionally.
- ›Describe a time you contributed to the growth or development of a team beyond your own fee-earning responsibilities.
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you consistently met or exceeded billing targets — what strategies did you use?
Describe a situation where you had to lead a team or mentor a junior colleague on a complex Private Client matter.