Partner in Brighton

The firm

DMH Stallard provides a comprehensive range of commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, employment, cyber security and cyber-crime, corporate, intellectual property, real estate and technology, media and telecoms advice to both businesses and individuals. Our clients, our people and our professional networks are the keys to our success. With offices in London and across the region, including Brighton, Gatwick, Guildford, Horsham, and Haywards Heath - we’re proud to have grown to around 410 people.

Culture really matters to us. In our most recent staff survey, 100% of our people said DMH is a great place to work, with 95% feeling they have a strong work-life balance, and 93.9% expressing confidence in the leadership team.

We’re committed to building a genuinely inclusive and supportive workplace. Our Women in Law group meets quarterly, and we’re actively working toward gender balance at all levels. We already exceed the industry average, with 40% of our partners being women compared to the sector average at 29%.

We actively invest in learning and development at all career stages. Our mentoring programme is available to all partners, and we are preparing to launch an internal mentoring programme to support progression right up to partnership. We also recognise that work-life balance is essential to long-term success and wellbeing, and we promote hybrid working arrangements to help our people perform at their best inside and outside of work.

We’re also especially proud to achieve gold accreditation from Investors in People, which reflects our strong commitment to people development and leadership.

The department

The team handles a broad range of commercial litigation matters, with a focus on disputes involving intellectual property, technology, media, data and privacy claims. The team advises corporate and individual clients, owner-managed businesses and other organisations across a range of sectors on contentious matters and risk management strategies. The team provides commercially focused advice across all stages of the dispute resolution process, including pre-action correspondence, negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration and court proceedings at all levels.

The successful candidate will play a key role in developing the Brighton TMT Dispute Resolution practice alongside the Partner, Associate and Solicitors, and in driving the growth of the wider Dispute Resolution group. The team currently consists of 1 Partner, 1 Senior Associate, 1 Solicitor and 1 paralegal.

The litigation team works very closely with the specialist commercial team, also based in Brighton.

The wider team is well-known for its specialist work, having been ranked as leaders in the field by the Directories for many years.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and entrepreneurial Partner to join our highly regarded Dispute Resolution TMT department. You’ll play a key role in helping shape the future of the team - driving its strategic direction, developing client relationships, and contributing to the continued growth of this practice area.

It goes without saying that you’ll be a strong technical lawyer, but it’s also really important to us that you’re the kind of person who leads with integrity, builds others up, and helps maintain our culture of speaking up about problems or mistakes, and working collaboratively to resolve issues rather than attributing blame.

Role And Responsibilities

• Working with the Group Head to assist with the growth of the team, setting the strategic direction in line with the firm’s wider business plan and promoting the vision and strategy of the firm
• Driving business development activity and generating new client opportunities, developing referrer relationships, networking effectively within the local and regional business community, and raising the profile of the team in target markets
• Managing and developing key client relationships, acting as a trusted advisor on complex and high-value disputes, and ensuring the highest standards of client care so that clients return and recommend the firm to others
• Supervising, mentoring and developing fee earners, supporting their technical growth and career progression, and sharing knowledge and experience through informal coaching and formal training
• Taking responsibility for your own caseload with agreed fee targets, monitoring financial performance including fees, contribution, billing and time recording, and ensuring proper pricing and scoping of all matters
• Contributing to firm-wide initiatives, identifying cross-selling opportunities across the firm’s wider services, and attending relevant meetings and conferences to support strategic and commercial initiatives
• Maintaining the highest standards of client care, technical excellence and risk management, including compliance with the firm’s Money Laundering and FSMA Policies and Procedures
• Representing DMH Stallard externally i.e. leading seminars, speaking at conferences, attending business development events and building your reputation as a leader in your field

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for a senior dispute resolution lawyer who is ready to take the next step in their career, or an established Partner looking for a platform that will genuinely support their ambitions. You’ll be commercially minded, collaborative, and motivated by building something — not just maintaining it.

Essential

• You will be a qualified solicitor with solid experience of commercial dispute resolution work.
• Proven track record of managing complex, high-value and multi-party litigation from inception through to trial and enforcement, including interim applications and remedies.
• An established client base and/ or referral network, or demonstrable ability to generate a personal following.
• Strong commercial acumen with a pragmatic approach to advice and negotiations, and a clear understanding of clients’ commercial drivers and risk appetite.
• Demonstrable business development capability with a well-developed network of professional and business contacts and the ability to leverage relationships to generate new instructions and referrals.
• Leadership experience, including the ability to lead and delegate tasks, supervise team members, and support their performance management.
• Excellent technical knowledge and the ability to draft documentation with attention to detail, provide legal advice to a high standard, and coach others through technical drafting.
• A collaborative, team-oriented approach with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to engage credibly with clients, contacts and colleagues at all levels.

Desirable

• Experience of intellectual property, technology. Media, data and / or privacy disputes.
• Existing partner-level network across the South East and/ or London.
• Experience of management or leadership roles within a previous firm, including understanding of firm strategy and vision.
• Recognition in Chambers and/ or Legal 500.

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