Tax and Trusts Legal Director

Legal Director | Tax & Trusts | Bristol

A major national practice is looking to appoint a Legal Director to lead its Trusts & Estates Tax team in Bristol. This is a pivotal role within a large, well‑resourced Private Client Advisory group that has invested heavily in its tax and trusts capability in recent years. The Bristol team is growing quickly, making this an ideal moment for a senior specialist to step in and shape its next phase.

You’ll be joining a department that treats tax and trusts as a specialism, not an add‑on, and has the infrastructure, support, and client base to allow someone at Legal Director level to have significant influence.

You'll take a leading role in the management and strategic development of the Trusts & Estates Tax team in Bristol, with responsibilities including:

• Leadership and team development
  Leading a group of four Trust and Executor Tax Executives, overseeing their technical work, reviewing KPIs, carrying out appraisals, and shaping training and development plans. The team is at a key growth point, so your leadership will directly influence how its capability evolves.
• Managing a portfolio of complex, high‑value trusts
  Taking responsibility for a broad portfolio of long‑standing private client, family, and charitable trusts. This includes trust administration, preparation of trust accounts, compliance, reporting, and advising trustees on tax consequences, structuring options, and risk.
• Operational oversight and quality control
  Handling the financial management of the Bristol Trusts & Estates Tax team, ensuring processes are efficient, compliant, and aligned with firm‑wide standards. You’ll play a central role in refining systems, developing internal policies, and maintaining quality assurance.
• Strategic advisory and internal expertise
  Acting as a senior technical advisor to colleagues across the Private Client group and other practice areas. This includes supporting with complex trust queries, cross‑border issues, FATCA, CRS, TRS requirements, and the growing Trust Corporation offering.
• Developing the wider offering
  Helping shape and future‑proof the firm’s trust and executor tax proposition, working closely with the partner lead. You’ll be involved in internal initiatives, external relationships, and thought leadership that strengthens the department’s national profile.

This is a role for someone who wants to lead, refine, and grow, not simply maintain existing workflows.

• Experienced Trusts & Estates tax specialist with deep knowledge of trust administration, tax compliance, and trust accounting.
• Comfortable managing high‑value trusts and advising on complex tax issues across IHT, CGT, income tax, reporting and regulatory requirements.
• Strong leadership instincts, with experience mentoring or managing junior colleagues.
• Organised, commercially aware, and confident in shaping processes as well as delivering high‑level technical work.
• Keen to contribute to the development of a department in growth mode, adding structure and direction while still being collaborative in approach.

This role offers far more than day‑to‑day trust administration. You’ll be joining a team that has:

• Significant recent investment
  The wider private client group has expanded rapidly, with new hires, a growing Trust Corporation capability, and a commitment to building one of the strongest trusts and estates tax offerings in the region. You’ll be stepping into a platform that is already strong but still being actively developed.
• A collaborative culture
  A culture where people are encouraged to progress, where colleagues share knowledge freely, and where teams are structured around cooperation rather than silos. In practice, that looks like accessible senior leaders, cross‑discipline problem‑solving, and a department that values initiative.
• Complex, varied, and high‑impact work
  You’ll work with trustees, business owners, landowners, family groups, and charities, often on long‑term trusts requiring strategic advice over many years. The trust work here is not routine: it is technical, multi‑layered, and often intertwined with corporate, agricultural, property, and family…