Family Senior Associate (5 years PQE)

What you’ll do We are seeking to recruit a confident and technically accomplished Senior Associate (ideally with 5+ years PQE) to support the growth of our busy Family team in Exeter. Described by Chambers in 2024 as being “a team of excellent solicitors providing well-rounded, specialist advice to family clients,” our family team are recognised as being specialists in their field. You will report directly to and work closely with the Head of Department, and assume responsibility for handling complex work including high new worth divorce, finance cases, and private children proceedings. From the outset you will be exposed to high quality work, with a responsibility for some supervision of junior lawyers in the team, whilst playing a key role in supporting and developing the wider Family team, increasing our presence within the market through your positive and proactive approach to business development. By joining us, you will become part of an enthusiastic and forward thinking team, with exposure to high quality work from the outset. About you Having worked with a similar sized regional or city law firm, you will have already gained considerable experience in different types of family work including with high net worth clients and have developed a strong reputation locally with a variety of clients and business networks. With an exemplary reputation for high quality, complex family work, you will readily demonstrate your ability to work calmly and with professionalism across this challenging field of law. Passionate about securing the best outcomes for your clients, you will be a Resolution Accredited Specialist and have sound working knowledge of private children law and proceedings. As a naturally excellent communicator who readily gains the confidence of clients you are working with, you will have begun developing your own client following or established key contacts, and be excited by the opportunity to continue growing your practice. Naturally resilient, you already show your ability to cope with stressful and demanding situations, and be accustomed to working under pressure to meet challenging deadlines. Why join Team Ashfords? Ask our people, and they will tell you that they genuinely enjoy coming to work and spending time with their colleagues. We’re confident that once you discover our open and friendly culture, it won’t take long for you to feel the same. We have a genuine team approach at Ashfords because we know that when talented people work together, we achieve more for our clients and each other. We also recognise that each of our career journeys is unique. So, we will be ambitious for you and give you the support you need to develop your career, your way. Importantly, we will give you the space and flexibility for your life outside work too. Our goal? To help you realise your full potential as part of a forward-thinking team and business. That’s what sets us apart. Our offer We offer a range of benefits to support you at work and at home. This includes a flexible working framework giving you the freedom to mix home and office working, extra annual leave for your birthday and the option to buy more holiday. We have a comprehensive package to support physical and mental health including onsite yoga classes and a gym at our head office, healthcare plans, an Employee Assistance programme and free access for you and up to five friends to the ‘Calm’ Mindfulness App. You’ll also have the chance to get involved in our responsible business programme, including fundraising initiatives through the Ashfords Foundation and bringing your energy to our environment or diversity groups. What next? Interested in this vacancy but not sure you match all the requirements? At Ashfords, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We offer training and development opportunities to all of our people to help everyone reach their full potential. Even if your skills and experience aren’t a perfect match, we’d still love to hear from you. If you’re not the right candidate for this role, you could be the right candidate for other positions at Ashfords. For an informal and confidential discussion about this opportunity, please contact Toby Tompkins, Talent Attraction Manager, on 01392 333 654 or via email: Or apply now, and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible