Job Description
Legal Assistant – Private Client (Wills & Probate)
Salary: £28,000 – £30,000+ DOE
Location: Romford/ East London
Specialist Work. Genuine Support. A Team That Actually Values You.
Our client is a multi-office, Lexcel accredited high street practice with a well-established reputation across East London and Essex. Their Private Client department handles a substantial and varied caseload — and they are now looking for an experienced Legal Assistant to support a senior solicitor and legal executive on a full range of Wills, Probate, LPA, Trust, and Estate Planning matters.
This is not a junior admin role. They want someone who knows their way around a Private Client caseload, can work with confidence and minimal supervision, and is ready to be a genuine contributor to a busy, specialist team.
If you have at least two years’ experience supporting within Private Client and you are looking for a role where your contribution is recognised including a share of your supervisor’s profit-related bonus — this is worth reading.
The Role
Job Title: Legal Assistant – Private Client (Wills & Probate)
Salary: £28,000 – £30,000+ (dependant on experience)
Location: Romford, Essex (with occasional cover across Gidea Park and Collier Row offices)
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm (4-day week considered)
Working Arrangements: Office-based; full-time preferred, part-time (4 days) accommodated
What You Will Be Doing
You will work directly alongside a senior legal advisor, providing hands-on support across a varied and interesting Private Client caseload. Day-to-day responsibilities will include:
- Drafting Wills and Trust documentation from a solicitor’s notes
- Preparing Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) forms and submitting applications online via the OPG portal
- Probate and estate administration support, including online Grant of Probate applications
- Preparing and completing IHT forms including IHT205, IHT217, and IHT400
- Drafting general correspondence and legal documentation across the full Private Client spectrum
- Client-facing contact — building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and referrers
- Providing departmental cover across Romford, Gidea Park, and Collier Row offices when required
- Digital audio transcription and document production
What Our Client Is Looking For
Essential
- Minimum 2 years’ experience as a Legal Assistant within a Private Client, Wills & Probate department in a UK legal practice
- Proven ability to prepare LPA forms and Will drafts from solicitor notes
- Experience submitting LPA and Grant of Probate applications online
- Working knowledge of IHT forms (IHT205, IHT217, IHT400)
- Strong drafting skills across Wills, Trusts, Probate, and LPA documentation
- Excellent client-facing communication skills — confident, professional, and approachable
- Ability to work unsupervised with a well-organised, self-motivated approach
- Typing speed of 60 WPM and experience with digital audio transcription
- Ability to commute to all three office locations for cover purposes
Desirable
- Experience using LEAP case management software
- Familiarity with online probate and OPG submission portals
- A genuine interest in building long-term client and referrer relationships
What Is on Offer
Our client rewards individual contribution directly including a share of the senior legal advisor’s profit-related bonus, not a diluted department-wide pool:
- Salary: £28,000 – £30,000+ DOE
- Performance-Related Bonus: Discretionary annual bonus based on individual performance
- Profit Share: A direct share of the supervising legal advisor’s profit-related bonus
- Holiday Allowance: 5.6 weeks per annum inclusive of bank holidays (full time)
- Christmas Closure: Additional discretionary leave between Christmas and New Year
- Birthday Leave: One additional day’s leave for your birthday, after six months’ service
- Flexible Hours: 4-day working week considered for the right candidate
- Company Pension Scheme
- Employee Discount
- On-Site Parking
- Staff Social Events throughout the year
Why This Opportunity Stands Out
- A Lexcel accredited practice — a mark of quality management and client care in law
- Work alongside specialists in their field within a firm with decades of local heritage
- Profit share directly tied to your supervisor’s performance — a genuinely motivating structure
- A friendly, enthusiastic team environment in a well-established high street practice
- Flexible working hours considered — rare at this level in a client-facing legal role
- Genuine variety across Wills, Probate, LPAs, Trusts, and Estate Planning, not a repetitive, single-task position
How to Apply
This role is being managed on a confidential basis by Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions Ltd.
To be considered, or for a private, no-obligation conversation about the opportunity, please contact:
David Hawthorne-Finch
Managing Director,
Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions Ltd
Email: d.hawthorne-finch@h-fts.com
Phone: 0333 996 2882
Website: https://h-fts.com
All applications and enquiries are treated in the strictest confidence.
Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions Ltd is a specialist legal and accountancy recruitment consultancy. We are committed to ethical, transparent, and relationship-led recruitment. Candidates are never submitted to a client without their explicit, written consent.