THE VACANCY

Moore Barlow is currently seeking a Partner to join our Family Team in our offices in Southampton.

MORE ABOUT US

Formed via a merger in 2020, Moore Barlow is a leading law firm with the aim to be the best law firm to work for regionally. We are a career firm, providing access to high-quality work, long-term career opportunities and a culture built on a core value of being “human first” in everything we do. Put simply, we care as much about your career as you do. We are featured in The Times’ Best Law Firms 2025 list, and consistently achieve recognition for the quality of our services in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
We are now 450 people, including 280 lawyers, and 58 Partners with offices across the South-East and London.

DAY TO DAY

The Southampton Family Team is comprised of one Partner, one Senior Associate, and one Solicitor. We are currently seeking a Partner who will take over the stewardship of this team whilst developing and managing their own caseload of high-value and complex Family matters. This individual will play a vital role in the supervision and continued growth of the team based in Southampton.
We promote a healthy work life balance which allows our Partners and staff to manage their various responsibilities in a way that is sustainable for the long term; which leads to better outcomes for our people and our clients.

Our Family Team, a leading team recognised in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, provides a supportive and collaborative service which emphasises achieving the right outcomes for its clients. Here is some further information on our team and the type of services they offer to their clients;

• We are a large and experienced team handling HNW and/or complex work with offices in Southampton, Guildford, Richmond, Woking, Lymington, and London, which makes us ideally placed to act for clients in the HNW hubs of London and the Home Counties.
• Finance: we regularly deal with HNW/complex financial remedy both in and our of the court system. Our financial remedy matters are frequently complex in nature, and include trusts, non-marital assets, business structures, pensions, and inherited wealth, as well as more volatile assets such as stocks and shares. We often act for international clients and many of the cases have an international element.
• Family agreements: either pre or post-nuptial but also for cohabitants. We also, where appropriate, secure “mirror” agreements in other jurisdictions.
• Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR): there are four collaboratively-trained lawyers in the team, and four mediators, and we emphasise the NCDR route wherever possible.
• Accord – one couple, one lawyer, one aim: In October 2022, we launched this scheme, which enables clients who are not in conflict to instruct the same lawyer to handle their divorce / separation and related financial and children matters, greatly streamlining matters and ultimately leading to more efficient routes to agreed outcomes.
• Modern families: we often advise on cohabitation agreements, as well as dealing with cohabiting couples separating, specialising in financial remedy applications for cohabitants including Schedule 1 and TLATA. This is a niche area of family law where some firms lack expertise. We are also leaders in the area for surrogacy matters.
• We also undertake complex private children law disputes.

Our team always strives to achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients, which often involves taking a constructive, non-confrontational approach and avoiding court proceedings wherever possible.
This is a unique and valuable opportunity for an experienced Family Lawyer to join the Moore Barlow Partnership and further develop their reputation as an expert in this field of law.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR:

• A qualified Solicitor or Legal Executive with significant experience in the field of family law. We are seeking an individual used to managing a caseload of a broad range of family matters. Individuals with experience of financial matters as well as complex children disputes, often with an international element, are especially encouraged to apply.
• You will have built a strong professional network and reputation within the field of family law, and be able to demonstrate your business development skills and ability to aid in the growth of the department.
• You will ideally have experience in managing, or contributing to the management of, a successful family team, and confident in supervising fee-earners (of all levels) and support staff.
• You will be working with a team committed to the Resolution Code of Practice and in turn will be expected to work and lead in the same way.
• An accreditation from the Law Society and/or Resolution would be advantageous.
• We do not tend to use PQE as the sole measure of experience. As such we are keen to hear from individuals who are currently, or feel ready to make the move into a Partnership position.
• We are human-first in everything that we do, and seek people who share this trait. You will therefore have great communication skills, a passion for helping clients achieve their goals and the ability to think creatively.
• Whilst this position is offered full-time, we offer a split of working from home and in the office, we are a flexible team and are open to consider alternative working patterns.
  If you feel that you possess the required skills and abilities, and are keen to advance your career as part of our leading Family Team, then we strongly encourage you to apply.
  If you would like to learn more about this opportunity before applying, please contact Brandon Duchesne, Talent Acquisition Manager, for an informal conversation – brandon.duchesne@moorebarlow.com.

WHO WE ARE

We are Moore Barlow, a top regional career law firm with a simple mission – to make a difference.
We support our clients and the communities we help through providing outstanding legal services with empathy and expertise. A full service law firm, we support these core client groups: Individuals & Families, Entrepreneurial Businesses & Organisations and Personal/Catastrophic Injury & Medical Negligence.
We are passionate about making a difference to our people, their careers and care deeply about their experience at work. Moore Barlow aims to be recognised as the best career law firm to work for. This means that we care as much about your career as you do. So whether you join us early in your career, in one of our outstanding business support functions or are continuing an already rich career in law, you’ll find Moore Barlow a great place to further build your experience.
With numerous top-tier rankings in law, exceptional quality of work and named a Times Top 100 best law firm to work for, we have big plans. We are seeking passionate, human-focused individuals like you as we continue to grow. With over 450 dedicated professionals including 70 Partners and 272 Lawyers, Moore Barlow offers substantial opportunity for further advancement and personal development.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER

Our culture is open, diverse and inclusive and we look for likeminded individuals who recognise that it’s this individuality that allows us to be truly different to other firms. Everything we do is underpinned by the Moore Barlow Way, which is a set of values and principles to ensure consistency of experience no matter which team you work within.
As a true career firm, we seek to reward the great work our people undertake with continued personal development opportunities. We have big plans for growth, and we see that this creates extensive opportunity for our people as we move towards our long-term ambitions.
In most of our roles, we are also open to supporting hybrid, flexible working and different work patterns. What you do outside of work is as important as your time inside of work – and we want to strike the right balance for both the individual and the firm.
We also offer great benefits including 28 days’ annual leave, private medical insurance, income protection, life assurance, firmwide bonus scheme and a generous pension scheme.
If you’re seeking to join a firm that seeks to provide a personal and highly engaging place to work – we are confident that you’ll find this at Moore Barlow.

Please refer the Job description for details