About Thornhill

Thornhill is one of the leading advisers to entrepreneurs, trustees, family-controlled businesses and family offices, providing strategic counsel on succession, structuring and governance. Many of our Private Wealth clients have worked with the firm across multiple generations, and our advice reflects that long view.

About the Role

We are seeking an Associate to join our Private Wealth practice in London, advising entrepreneurs, family offices and trustees on succession planning, cross-border structuring and related matters. This is a relationship-driven practice area, and the successful candidate will work closely with partners on long-term client relationships that often span multiple jurisdictions, multiple advisers and, in many cases, multiple generations of the same family. You should expect a genuinely varied caseload, spanning both non-contentious structuring work and, on occasion, contentious trust and estate matters.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on the preparation of wills, trusts and broader succession planning arrangements

• Support cross-border asset structuring for individuals and family offices with interests spanning multiple jurisdictions

• Draft and review trust deeds, letters of wishes and related estate planning documentation

• Liaise with international advisers, local counsel and tax specialists on multi-jurisdictional planning matters

• Support the firm's Family Offices practice on governance frameworks and investment structuring matters

• Contribute to client relationship management on long-standing matters, including attending client meetings alongside partners

• Assist on contentious trust and estate matters as they arise, working alongside the Private Wealth Disputes team

Requirements

• Qualified solicitor (England and Wales) with 1–3 years' post-qualification experience in private client, trusts or succession planning work

• STEP qualification, or evidence of working towards it, an advantage

• Strong attention to detail, given the technical precision required in trust and estate documentation

• Excellent client communication skills, including the ability to explain complex structuring concepts clearly to non-technical clients

• Genuine interest in building long-term client relationships, rather than purely transactional work

What We Offer

The opportunity to build genuinely long-term client relationships from an early stage in your career, direct mentorship from partners with decades of private wealth experience, and exposure to some of the firm's most established family relationships.