The Team

Our Family Law team is one of the UK's leading national practices, combining outstanding technical expertise with a commitment to delivering exceptional client outcomes. We are ambitious about the future of family law and continuously look for ways to enhance our services, develop our people and stay ahead of legal, market and technological change.

As part of our continued growth and investment, we are creating a brand-new strategic full-time or 0.9 FTE Legal Director role. Sitting within the Family team, with a close working relationship and dotted-line connection to our Professional Development Lawyer (PDL) function, this position will play a pivotal role in shaping the future direction of the practice.

This is a unique opportunity to influence legal reform, drive innovation and AI adoption, support technical excellence, develop future talent and help design the next generation of family law services.

Your Role

As Legal Director, you will act as a strategic leader, technical expert and trusted adviser to the Family Law leadership team. Combining elements of a senior family lawyer, Professional Development Lawyer and innovation lead, you will help ensure our practice remains at the forefront of legal excellence, client service and market development.

Working closely with the National Head of Family Law, leadership teams, Learning & Development, Legal Tech, Business Development and Marketing colleagues, you will help identify emerging opportunities, anticipate future challenges and develop practical solutions that strengthen our position as a market-leading family law practice.

Alongside your strategic responsibilities, you will maintain a fee-earning contribution, supporting colleagues on complex matters and providing senior-level technical expertise across the team.

What You'll Be Doing

• Acting as a strategic technical leader within the Family Law team, helping to shape the future direction of the practice.
• Monitoring legal and regulatory developments, producing practical guidance and supporting colleagues on complex technical issues.
• Leading and contributing to law reform, thought leadership and external profile-raising activities.
• Designing and delivering training programmes, supporting professional development and helping to identify and develop future leaders and specialists.
• Creating and maintaining high-quality knowledge resources, precedents and learning materials across the national team.
• Driving innovation and exploring how AI, legal technology and process improvements can enhance client service, efficiency and quality.
• Working collaboratively with Learning & Development, Legal Tech, Risk, Marketing and Business Development teams to deliver strategic initiatives.
• Identifying emerging trends, market and pricing opportunities and new service offerings to support the continued growth of the Family Law practice.
• Supporting improvements to the client journey, service design, operational processes and overall client experience.
• Providing strategic support to the National Head of Family Law and wider leadership team, including business planning, competitor analysis and change initiatives.
• Building relationships with external organisations, professional bodies, academic institutions and innovation networks to enhance the team's profile and influence.
• Maintaining a fee-earning contribution through involvement in complex matters, technical support, file reviews and quality assurance activities.

We're looking for an experienced and forward-thinking family lawyer who is excited by the opportunity to shape a newly created role and make a lasting impact on the future of the practice.

You will bring:

• A strong academic background and significant experience practising family law, ideally operating at Legal Director level or equivalent.
• Outstanding technical expertise in financial remedies, children law or both.
• A genuine passion for legal education, professional development and coaching others.
• Experience delivering training, mentoring or professional development programmes.
• A proven track record of service design and/or delivery with measurable outcomes
• Strong drafting, communication and presentation skills.
• The ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical guidance.
• An interest in legal reform, Thought Leadership, NCDR, mediation, innovation and the future of family law.
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for AI, legal technology and service improvement.
• Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how innovation can enhance client service and business performance.
• The confidence to influence senior stakeholders while building strong relationships across all levels of the business.
• A collaborative, proactive and positive approach, with the energy and vision to help shape a market-leading practice.

This role would suit a technically excellent current or former family lawyer who enjoys thinking strategically, developing others and influencing the future direction of legal services, while continuing to maintain a connection to high-quality client work.

Whilst working flexibly, you would ideally be based in one of our main Metropolitan Centres.