Brethertons Solicitors

Overview

Brethertons is a long-established regional law firm operating from four offices in Banbury, Bloxham, Bicester, Cheltenham and Rugby. The firm emphasises a personal, client-focused approach and is known for its award-winning Family, Conveyancing, Serious Injury and Private Client teams. Brethertons combines local strength across Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire with a nationwide reach and offers services such as on-site virtual courtrooms, client concierge support and training webinars. The firm has been publicly recognised in recent years (Modern Law Client Care Award 2024; inclusion in The Times Best Law Firms listing).

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

Family Law
Real Estate
Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
Private Client & Wealth
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Housing & Social Housing

Geographic Focus: Strong regional focus in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire with offices in Banbury, Bloxham, Bicester, Cheltenham and Rugby. The firm serves Coventry & Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and clients nationwide; it also handles international family law matters (notably international child abduction) and occasional cross-border work.

Training Contract

Brethertons offers traditional training contracts targeted at candidates who have completed the LPC (the firm states 'Completed LPC is required for an application to be considered'). Training contracts are used to develop solicitors from paralegal/legal assistant roles; trainees are supported by a Training Principal and a network of recently qualified solicitors. The firm emphasises on-the-job responsibility, mentoring and internal promotion but does not publish a fixed seat count or rotation length on the available pages.

Academic Requirements: Completed LPC is required for training contract applications. The firm expects relevant prior experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant and looks for progressive, enthusiastic candidates who share Brethertons' values.

Seat Options

Conveyancing
Wills, Trusts & Probate
Family Law
Life Changing Injuries
Litigation / Dispute Resolution
Residential Leasehold
Property Management
Debt Recovery
Property Litigation
Private Client Dispute Resolution

Mentorship

Each trainee is assigned a Training Principal responsible for their development and the firm highlights a supportive network of colleagues and mentors (generally newly qualified solicitors). Apprentices and apprentices’ learners have dedicated assessors via Heart of England Training; the firm describes buddying and regular review meetings for apprentices.

Apply on the Brethertons Solicitors website →

Programmes & Schemes

Apprenticeship Programme

Brethertons runs a structured apprenticeship programme (Business Administration, Legal Assistant and support function apprenticeships) in partnership with Heart of England Training (HOET). The firm has run the programme for many years (the blog states 13 years) and has engaged dozens of apprentices (the firm reports 41 apprentices engaged to date). Apprentices work across residential conveyancing, dispute resolution, children & domestic violence, property management and other teams; they receive on-the-job training, quarterly progress reviews and an external assessor from HOET. Brethertons has been recognised as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer.

Duration: Varies (Level 2/Level 3 apprenticeships; duration depends on the standard)

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Notable Matters

CS v FB [2020] EWHC 1474 (Fam) — reported family law proceedings

Reported family law judgment handled by the firm's family team (listed on the firm's reported cases). The case is an example of Brethertons’ involvement in high‑level family litigation and demonstrates its capacity to act in complex disputed children matters before the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Family Law

JZ v FZ [2017] EWHC 750 (Fam) — reported family litigation

A reported High Court family decision in which the firm’s family team acted. Listed among Brethertons’ reported cases, this matter evidences the firm’s experience in handling significant children/relocation and international family disputes.

Family Law

High-value spinal cord and catastrophic injury claims led by Jonathan Rees

A national practice for catastrophic and life-changing injury claims (spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation, polytrauma) led by Partner Jonathan Rees. The team handles a relatively small number of severe injury cases and regularly secures six- and seven-figure (sometimes eight-figure) settlements, working closely with medical specialists, benefits advisers and specialist rehabilitative services.

Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence

What Brethertons Solicitors Looks For

Key Competencies

Client-focused attitude and strong client care
Teamwork and collaboration
Attention to detail
Commercial awareness (practical problem solving)
Resilience and adaptability
Enthusiasm for personal development and willingness to learn

Evidence Signals

Prior paralegal or legal assistant experience (the firm specifically recruits trainees from internal paralegals)
Completed LPC for training contract applications (per the careers page)
Practical experience on property, family or litigation matters (conveyancing, family law, personal injury experience are particularly relevant)
Apprenticeship experience or vocational qualifications (Brethertons has a strong apprenticeship pathway)
Local/community engagement and demonstrable client-service orientation
Examples of handling complex client matters or working collaboratively on multi-disciplinary cases

Benefits & Wellbeing

Minimum of 26 days holiday per annum (pro rata for part-time)
Holiday buy and sell (up to an additional 5 days per annum*)
Ability to carry up to 5 days over to the following year
Pension scheme
Healthcare Cashback scheme (including medical and dental)
Private Healthcare through Bupa
Generous Life Assurance policy
A free day off to celebrate when you hit a birthday milestone
An annual 'well-being day'
Staff referral bonus scheme
Help @ Hand Wellbeing App
Bonus Incentive Scheme
Discounted Legal Services for staff
Cycle to Work Scheme
Payment of Professional Fees and Subscriptions
Sponsorship of Professional Qualifications
Comprehensive Employee Discount Scheme
Length of Service Recognition
Blended working approach / ability to work from home
Moments that Matter days
Ongoing learning, training and support
Excellent IT equipment on day one (laptop, headset, work mobile) as standard

Wellbeing

An active Wellbeing Committee organises wellbeing initiatives; the firm offers a Wellbeing App (Help @ Hand), an annual wellbeing day, regular social events, an annual Staff Conference, and local charity fundraising. The firm also provides (for clients) free counselling support and has an in-house family consultant therapist — evidence of a wellbeing focus across the business.

Awards & Recognition

Modern Law Awards — Client Care Award 2024
The Times Best Law Firms — inclusion in Best Law Firms 2026 (announced 2025-11-14)
The Times Top 250 Law Firms 2025 (recognition/name mentioned)
Lexcel Accreditation (Law Society)
Conveyancing Quality Accreditation (Law Society)
Cyber Essentials / Cyber Essentials Plus certification (2021 blog announcing Cyber Essentials Plus)
Chambers & Partners rankings (Firm and individual lawyer rankings across multiple years including 2018–2024)
The Legal 500 — multiple recommended practice areas (various years including 2018–2022)
News on the Block / Property Management Awards — multiple recognitions (including Arrears Recovery Company of the Year and Hot 100 placements)
ESTAS Conveyancer Awards — multiple awards/shortlistings (2019)
Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer recognition (National Apprenticeship Awards / City & Guilds)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The firm completes the SRA Diversity questionnaire (data reported, July 2025) and has a CSR committee and Wellbeing Committee to embed inclusion, wellbeing and community engagement. The firm also pledges donations to its Charity of Choice per 5-star Trustpilot/Google reviews.

Wellbeing Committee (CSR committee focused on environment, communities and people)
Regular Pulse Surveys and 'You Said / We Did' employee communications
Corporate social responsibility and charity programme (charity of choice 2025/2026: Maggie's)
Apprenticeship programme (partnered with Heart of England Training) and Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer recognition
Local community engagement: legal clinics, school talks and fundraising

Pro Bono

The firm runs community-facing initiatives including free client clinics, talks at local schools, charity fundraising and local legal clinics. While no firm-wide pro bono hours target is published on the available pages, the firm emphasises community work and support for local charities and vulnerable clients.

Innovation

Brethertons highlights practical, client-facing technology and process improvements rather than proprietary legal tech products: virtual courtrooms, an online wills questionnaire, videoconferencing for nationwide work and a focus on cyber security (Cyber Essentials Plus). Trainees and staff are issued with standardised IT equipment (laptop, headset, mobile) to ensure remote working capability; the firm positions technology as an enabler of client care and accessibility.

On-site virtual court rooms for clients
Client concierge service and free client clinic provision
Online Wills questionnaire (Arken / Acquire integration)
Cyber Essentials Plus certification and firm-wide cyber security measures
Use of video conferencing and web-based webinars for client communications and training

Quick Application Angles

Lead with client care: reference Brethertons’ Modern Law 'Client Care Award' (2024) and give concrete examples of how you have delivered excellent, empathetic client service.
If you have paralegal or apprenticeship experience, highlight it — the firm explicitly promotes from internal paralegals and has a long-running apprenticeship programme (partnered with Heart of England Training).
For family-law roles, cite relevant reported cases or experience with international child matters (Brethertons is on the ICACU panel and publishes a long list of reported family cases).
Demonstrate local knowledge and community engagement (Oxfordshire/Warwickshire/Gloucestershire): the firm values local reputation and community initiatives.
Mention process and tech adaptability (experience using case-management systems, video hearings or online client tools) — Brethertons promotes virtual courtrooms and online client questioning (Wills questionnaire).