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Qualified Lawyers

Employer
The Government Legal Department (GLD)
Location
London (Greater)
Salary
£50,000 or £42,844 for those with less than 3 years’ PQE
Closing date
19 Mar 2021

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Job Details

Qualified Lawyers
Government Legal Department
£50,000 or £42,844 for those with less than 3 years’ PQE

London

We are the Government’s principal legal advisers. Our core purpose is to help the Government govern well, within the rule of law. Our work forms a crucial part of the design and implementation of policies and legislation. Our work touches on most aspects of public life and making a direct and visible impact on the British people.

The Government Legal Department is a fascinating place to work, offering unrivalled breadth of opportunity and unique legal challenge.

Our divisions serve a wide range of Government departments and public bodies. You’ll support our vision: to be trusted by Government to provide consistently excellent and value for money services.

Even for experienced lawyers, joining GLD is likely to involve a rapid learning curve; we’ll help you acquire the precise legal skills you need outside of private practice within a supportive environment and through our thriving CPD-accredited in-house training programme.

Our staff are encouraged to move between our divisions and there is a real emphasis on career development. For lawyers with less than one year’s PQE, we’ve recently introduced a scheme to help our new recruits develop their experience across contentious and non-contentious areas.

Strong intellectual and analytical skills are important.  With the ability to think strategically and creatively, you’ll see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly. Plus, you’ll bring a sound understanding of public law, and a reliable legal judgement and appreciation of legal risk. 

To be successful in your application, you’ll have a minimum of a 2:1 degree in any subject, or the equivalent experience or achievement. It’s essential that you’re either qualified or about to qualify to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales.  You must also have completed a training contract, pupillage, or qualifying employment – or, you’ve been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx.   

You’ll demonstrate Legal Professional Skills at Grade 7 level. And you’ll also bring excellent communication skills, great self-awareness, and a strong commitment to using feedback to learn and develop as a professional.

As well as the ability to communicate advice effectively in writing and face to face, you’ll possess a good understanding of the role of lawyers in Government. Capable of sound analysis, you’ll harness secure legal research to produce advice that’s both timely and fit for purpose.

You’ll be a great ambassador for the Government Legal Department, building our reputation and our clients’ confidence in us. In return, we are committed to being the best employer for our people.

Company

The Government Legal Department (GLD) is the largest provider of legal services across government, working with all the main Whitehall Departments.   From roads to rivers, and health to human rights, our work touches on most aspects of public life.

The department has more than 14 client-facing advisory teams who provide legal advice on the development, design and implementation of government policies and decisions, draft secondary legislation and work with Parliamentary Counsel on primary legislation.  Our cross-cutting expert service groups for Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law provide specialist legal services to a wide range of government departments and public bodies.

We are a non-ministerial government department with more than 2,300 employees, around 1,800 of whom are solicitors or barristers. The department is based primarily in London but has teams in Bristol, Manchester, and Leeds. 

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