Associate – Private Client

• PQE: 2 years
• Term type: Permanent
• Practice area: Private Client
• Location: Guildford

We are seeking a lawyer with experience and interest in private client tax advisory work, likely to have a minimum of 2 PQE. This is an excellent opportunity to develop experience in our broad based team, recognised for providing a real alternative to the City for complex private client matters given the quality of the offering.

We advise on the full spectrum of private client work and pride ourselves at being able to advise both on the essentials of succession planning and in relation to complex estates with complex tax and trust issues to address. Our work ranges from complex international tax planning for UHNW non-domiciliaries to landed estates and estate administration. Much of our work has an international dimension both in relation to succession and trust based issues (onshore and offshore), as well as tax concerns.

Representative cases include:

• Advising a number of non-UK domiciled clients on pre-arrival UK tax planning.
• Advising the individual members of a management team of a PE backed company with a value of £2bn in relation to pre-exit planning before a round of refinancing.
• Advising a Sunday Times Rich List family in relation to a tax-efficient succession strategy, charitable giving and investment tax issues.
• Advising the family office for a large European family (£1bn+) in relation to their wealth holding and investment management structure.
• Advising an ultra-high-net-worth global family in relation to the restructuring of their offshore trust interests to ‘modernise’ the control structure in light of increased family numbers.
• Working alongside a very successful entrepreneur (net wealth £250m+) to consider a complex trust history for part of the business and whether this structure should be revised in light of current circumstances.

Our private client team comprises 24 specialists (including six partners). We are top ranked for Private Wealth Law as “National Leaders (outside London)” in Chambers HNW, and top ranked for Personal tax, trusts and probate in The Legal 500, as well as being one of only a few firms to be ranked in the London section of The Legal 500 without a London presence.

Testimonials collated independently by Legal 500 reserach team:

• ‘The team's combination of diligence, hard work, empathy and pragmatism is a delight to work with. They have always found solutions for challenging requests and never failed to deliver on time.’
• ‘S&B has a highly professional team and personable people, covering the full range of skills and contacts that a top end legal service should provide.’
• ‘Stevens & Bolton is a practice based outside London, but with a level of expertise the same as any London firm.’

There is plenty of opportunity for the right individual to build a career in this fast developing practice group.

Rachel Tavroges-Hunter, an associate, comments: “It was the reputation of Stevens & Bolton alongside the nature and quality of work that initially attracted me to the firm. My expectations certainly weren’t unfounded – Stevens & Bolton is a great place to work, both in terms of the lovely colleagues and the high calibre of work. Given the size of the team, you are given a lot of personal responsibility and are able to have significant amounts of client contact; which not only means that you don’t feel as though you are just a “cog in the wheel” but also that you learn quickly and on the job. In addition, the firm’s history and background coupled with its ability to offer “excellence outside of the City” means that I could be dealing with a long-standing elderly local client in the morning and then with a high net wealth corporate individual in the afternoon – no day is ever boring!”

We are looking for a strong team player with good inter-personal skills, strong academics and high quality experience – typically with a major City or leading national/regional practice. Excellent communication skills are a must. An appetite for business development would be a definite advantage.

We are looking for a strong team player with good inter-personal skills, strong academics and high quality experience – typically with a major City or leading national/regional practice. Excellent communication skills are a must. An appetite for business development would be a definite advantage.

Candidates should have a background in a broad range of quality private client work, including experience in tax advisory. We offer excellent supervision, coaching and training within our friendly team, but we expect all team members to take responsibility at an early stage. The right candidate should be able to work with initiative to provide the highest quality advice and service.

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage your own workload are also required.

• Competitive base salary
• Pensions Scheme (5% employer contribution)
• Private medical insurance
• Permanent health insurance
• Life assurance
• Receive either the sum of £750 per annum as a travel allowance or reimbursement of carparking expenses via a pay as you go card at a local carpark (likely to be Farnham Road carpark)
• Travel – option to apply for an interest free loan for a season ticket or parking permit
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay (after sufficient service)
• Cash back scheme
• Comprehensive flexible benefits package including:
• Critical illness insurance
• Buy/Sell holiday scheme
• Dental insurance
• Cycle to work schemes
• Taste card
• Fun pass
• Give as you earn
• Discounted gym memberships and shopping
• Profit share and discretionary bonus schemes

Stevens & Bolton – making a positive difference to your career

You’ll work with people who listen, and who actively and willingly support one another within a collaborative and engaging environment. We genuinely care about our people and strive to build and maintain a diverse, inclusive and happy workforce.

We are recognised as a top firm in The Times Best Law Firms 2025, shortlisted for “Law Firm of the Year: The Independents” at The Lawyer Awards 2025 and shortlisted for “Regional/Offshore Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2025. The Firm was recently named “Law firm of the year” at the 2025 Legal Cheek Awards, was shortlisted for “ESG Initiative of the Year” at the Women, Influence & Power in Law UK 2024 Awards and shortlisted for “UK Law Firm of the Year - Small/Mid-Sized Firm” at the British Legal Awards 2023. Our refurbished office has been awarded a RICS SKA silver certificate and a 2-star Fitwel accreditation.

We’ve made excellence the hallmark of our firm: in the clear advice we give, in the enduring client relationships we build and in our proactive and highly responsive service. We seek to recruit people who will help us maintain and build on this, and in return we offer excellent long-term career and development opportunities.

Diversity & Inclusion

We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I). This drives a strategy which focuses on constant promotion of an inclusive culture that encourages everyone to realise their full potential and be themselves at work. In 2020 we were shortlisted for “Best D&I Initiative” at The HR Awards and for “Best Talent and Inclusion Initiative” at The Lawyer Awards.