Description:
Help Build the Future of Hook Law in Harbor ViewAttorney | Trusts & Estates and Wealth / Business Planning | Suffolk (Harbour View), VA | Full-Time
Hook Law is a growing, technology-forward firm reinventing estate planning and elder law. For 75 years, we have served clients across Virginia and North Carolina in elder law and long-term planning, estate and legacy planning, probate administration, and fiduciary and estate litigation. Our clients are often part of the “sandwich generation” — adults safeguarding assets for their children while helping their parents through the aging process — as well as retirees planning their own next chapter. Our vision is to be “A modern law firm engineered around the client experience, powered by the next generation of legal technology,” and our purpose is to deliver clarity, comfort, and confidence to high-net-worth individuals and families, young families, empty nesters, special needs families, retirees, and working professionals.
Harbour View is one of Hampton Roads' fastest-growing corridors, and our Suffolk office sits right at the center of it. We are not offering a job — we are offering a leadership opportunity: the chance to help grow this office alongside an established, talented team, and to build a career with an organization positioned to lead its space over the next 7 to 10 years.
We believe great attorneys do their best work when they have the time, support, and focus to serve clients well. With modest billing expectations, a true team-based culture, industry-leading paralegal support, and a commitment to work-life balance, we offer a practice environment designed for long-term success and satisfaction.
As an attorney at Hook Law, you serve as a client's strategic advisor across legacy planning, estate administration, and the broader wealth- and business-planning matters that surround them — drafting wills, trusts, and powers of attorney; counseling on asset protection, entity formation, and business succession; and advising on charitable giving, retirement, and tax strategy. You collaborate with financial advisors, CPAs, and insurance professionals, so teamwork and communication are essential. You may also represent clients in probate matters when they arise. The person in this role represents our brand, embodies our values, and sets the tone for every relationship that follows. We are hiring accordingly.
Hook Law seeks a full-time attorney for its Suffolk (Harbour View) office. This is not an entry-level role. The ideal candidate brings prior professional experience, takes genuine pride in their work and presentation, and is energized by the opportunity to help build and lead a growing practice.
Above all, our ideal candidate brings a strong sense of the business of law — excellent client management skills, a high regard for customer service, and sound cost-benefit judgment when evaluating cases.
The ideal candidate also lives our core values:
- Up our game
- Be available, be responsive
- Better as a team
- Be an owner
- Performance objectives are (proficiency in all areas not required):
- Conduct comprehensive estate planning consultations and develop customized planning strategies that align with each client's personal, family, business, and financial objectives.
- Complete initial client consultations and provide recommended planning strategies
- Maintain a client satisfaction rating of 90% or higher based on client feedback and referrals.
- Respond to client communications within one business day during normal business hours.
- Prepare, review, and oversee the execution of wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and related estate planning documents with a 95% accuracy rate.
- Ensure all planning documents are completed and delivered within the firm's established timelines.
- Maintain compliance with all applicable legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements.
- Minimize document revisions resulting from drafting errors to less than 5% of completed matters.
- Develop and implement sophisticated estate and tax planning strategies designed to preserve wealth, minimize transfer taxes, and accomplish client objectives.
- Identify planning opportunities involving estate taxes, gift taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes, income taxes, and charitable giving strategies when appropriate.
- Collaborate effectively with clients' CPAs, financial advisors, trustees, and other professional advisors to ensure coordinated planning.
- Successfully manage a portfolio of high-net-worth client matters while meeting firm productivity and profitability goals.
- Administer estates and trusts efficiently and accurately from initial probate filing through final distribution.
- Ensure all required probate filings, tax filings, notices, accountings, and distributions are completed within applicable deadlines.
- Maintain proactive communication with fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and professional advisors throughout the administration process.
- Complete estate administration matters within projected timelines and budgets whenever reasonably possible.
- Advise business owners on succession planning strategies that support continuity, wealth preservation, and ownership transition objectives.
- Draft and implement entity-related planning documents, including LLC operating agreements, limited partnership agreements, buy-sell agreements, and transfer strategies.
- Coordinate succession plans with estate, tax, and asset protection objectives.
- Identify and present planning opportunities that reduce risk and enhance long-term business and family outcomes.
- Effectively represent clients in probate, trust, guardianship, fiduciary, and related litigation matters.
- Meet all court deadlines, filing requirements, and procedural obligations with 100% compliance.
- Develop litigation strategies to achieve favorable, cost-effective client outcomes.
- Maintain timely communication with clients regarding case developments, risks, and recommended actions.
- Maintain current knowledge of estate planning, probate, trust, tax, and business succession laws through continuing legal education and professional development.
- Contribute to the firm's growth by driving client retention, generating referrals, advancing thought leadership, and building professional networks.
- Demonstrate professionalism, sound judgment, empathy, and discretion when advising clients on sensitive family and financial matters.
- Provide clear direction, guidance, and support to assigned paralegals and administrative staff to ensure high-quality client service and efficient matter management.
- Conduct regular check-ins with assigned team members to review workload, priorities, deadlines, and professional development.
Responsibilities:
- Customer Service — Responds promptly to customer needs and requests for service and assistance; meets commitments.
- Oral Communication — Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and seeks clarification; responds well to questions; participates in meetings.
- Written Communication — Writes clearly and informatively; edits work for spelling and grammar; varies writing style to meet different needs; presents numerical data effectively; reads and interprets written information.
- Temperament — Works well with minimal supervision; prioritizes and anticipates work needs; performs well under occasional pressure and short deadlines.
- Ethics — Keeps client and firm information confidential; understands and applies the rules of ethical behavior applicable to lawyers.
- Accounting Skills — Has general knowledge of accounting practices and procedures consistent with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
- Computer Skills — Has working knowledge of computer operation, internet, spreadsheet, and word processing software.
Qualifications/Requirements:
- Licensed and in good standing to practice law in Virginia.
- Several years of professional practice experience, with the drive to step into a leadership role and help grow an office.
- Trusts and estates experience is preferred — but in-depth experience in this practice area is not required.
- Ideal candidates bring experience in one or more of the following: asset protection, commercial transactions, entity formation, tax law, and/or business planning.
- Strong drafting, client counseling, and relationship-building skills.
- A practical, client-centered approach to advising families and business owners.
- Working knowledge of — or genuine interest in developing — federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax principles.
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