Head of Legal Practice

London or Cambridge

Permanent

£110,000 - £140,000

Sellick Partnership is pleased to be supporting an ambitious, AI-native professional services group in their search for a Head of Legal Practice to join the business at a pivotal time.

This is a unique opportunity to join a tech-forward legal and advisory business operating within an Alternative Business Structure (ABS), combining legal, financial, and software capabilities into one integrated platform.

The business is pioneering a next-generation "professional services as software" model. A fully tech-enabled environment where litigation, corporate, regulatory, and advisory services are delivered via intelligent automation and agentic AI systems.

As Head of Legal Practice, you will lead the legal division. Your role will include, but is not limited to:

Regulatory & Compliance Leadership

• Act as the designated Head of Legal Practice (HoLP) for SRA authorisation.
• Oversee compliance frameworks, policies, and firm-wide risk registers.
• Liaise with the SRA on authorisations, annual returns, and notifiable events.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with SRA Authorisation Rules, Code of Conduct, and Accounts Rules (in collaboration with the Head of Finance & Administration).
• Maintain and manage registers of breaches, complaints, and conflicts, ensuring timely reporting and remediation.

Legal Strategy & Governance

• Lead the design and scaling of service lines across commercial, corporate, dispute resolution, regulatory, and technology law.
• Advise the LLP Board on legal governance, regulatory risk, and compliance strategy.
• Work closely with the HoFA to ensure cohesive ABS compliance and AML oversight.
• Champion responsible innovation and ethical deployment of AI technologies within legal workflows.

Operational Leadership

• Implement robust client-care, file-management, and billing standards in line with SRA and Lexcel frameworks.
• Drive adoption of automation, knowledge management, and compliance-monitoring tools to enhance operational efficiency.

Client & Commercial Engagement

• Maintain the highest ethical and professional standards across all client engagements.
• Foster collaboration across the group\'s legal, financial, and AI/technology teams.
• Represent the firm in regulatory matters and high-level external partnerships.

The Successful candidate will

• Be a UK-qualified solicitor or barrister (or common law equivalent) with ideally 8+ years' PQE including experience as HoLP, COLP, General Counsel, or Head of Legal/Compliance within a regulated law firm or ABS.
• In-depth knowledge of SRA Standards and Regulations, the Legal Services Act 2007, AML, and data protection regimes.
• Demonstrated experience in managing SRA relationships and implementing firm-wide compliance systems.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, ideally within a tech-enabled or scale-up environment.

Desirable Attributes

• Prior involvement with ABS start-ups, law-tech ventures, or legal innovation initiatives.
• Awareness of or hands-on experience with AI governance, data ethics, or legal automation tools.
• Commercially minded with an entrepreneurial outlook and the ability to thrive in a fast-evolving, multidisciplinary setting.

Remuneration & Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience and seniority.
• Performance-based bonus, with potential for profit share or equity participation.
• Flexible hybrid working model, with office hubs in London (Marylebone) and Cambridge.
• Comprehensive benefits package including pension, private healthcare, and a technology allowance to support remote work.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced lawyer to join an innovative start-up company and play a key role in their legal function.

If you are interested in this role, please contact David Scott at Sellick Partnership for a confidential discussion.

Sellick Partnership is proud to be an inclusive and accessible recruitment business and we support applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances. Please note, our advertisements use years' experience, hourly rates, and salary levels purely as a guide and we assess applications based on the experience and skills evidenced on the CV. For information on how your personal details may be used by Sellick Partnership, please review our data processing notice on our website.