Working for GLP
Information regarding career development, flexible working, salaries and training opportunities
Qualified lawyer opportunities
Departments (in particular the Government Legal Department) fill vacancies when there are gaps in their legal capacity that cannot be filled from the existing population.
Qualified lawyer posts are open to barristers, solicitors and chartered legal executives who meet the professional qualifications criteria.
The level of entry is dependent on your level of experience and the role on offer. Details of this are included in a department鈥檚 job vacancy.
This short film showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.
Civil Service Jobs Website
Qualified lawyer vacancies across government are advertised on the .
The Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer.
Mailing List
To receive automatic job alerts for legal opportunities across government, we would recommend registering on the .
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a qualified lawyer post, you must ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria stated in a department鈥檚 Vacancy Notice. The four main areas are:
- professional qualifications
- academic qualifications
- nationality requirements
Barristers
If you are a barrister, you must have successfully completed your 1 year pupillage or have been exempted from this by the
If you qualified outside England and Wales you will be required to complete the
Solicitors
If you are solicitor, you must have completed your training contract or have been exempted from this by the
If you qualified outside England and Wales, you may need to complete the
Chartered Legal Executives
If you are a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) you will be eligible to apply if you either:
- hold a qualifying law degree or
- have completed the Graduate Diploma in Law or Common Professional Examination or
- have passed exams (i.e. achieved 50% or above) in all seven of the foundation subjects in law taken at CILEx Level 6
The foundation subjects in law are:
- contract law
- criminal law
- equity and trusts law
- European Union law
- land law
- public law
- law of tort
Academic qualifications
All applicants will need to meet the following requirements:
- you should have a minimum of a 2:1 degree in any subject
-
if you have a lower degree classification or do not hold a degree, some departments may consider your application. You must demonstrate equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement
- chartered legal executives should note that some departments are willing to consider applications from candidates who do not meet the minimum 2.1 degree criterion. You must have an overall average score of 65% across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6) to demonstrate the 2.1 degree equivalence
Nationality
You must meet all aspects of the civil service nationality rules.
Further information on the nationality requirements will be included in the job vacancies on the
Flexible careers
The Government Legal Department (GLD) is the largest single provider of legal services within the government legal community. GLD currently employs around 2,100 lawyers who deliver advisory, commercial, employment and litigation services to the majority of government departments.
Lawyers work with their legal managers to develop their own career path. Lawyers aren鈥檛 expected to specialise in one area of law for their entire careers.
Departments never assume that, because a lawyer has specialised in a particular field, they won鈥檛 have the capacity to take on a new challenge. Lawyers are encouraged to develop transferable skills which they can apply to the variety of legal work on offer.
However, departments do recognise that, while some prefer variety, others prefer to establish a career in a particular field. Both choices can be accommodated.
Legal teams鈥� primary duty is to provide their department with an effective service and make sure that their business needs continue to be met.
Departments have clear policies surrounding the amount of time they expect their lawyers to remain in a particular post. This is usually between 3 and 4 years. After this time, lawyers considering a move are advised to work with their legal managers and consider what their next post might be.
Flexible working
Legal teams are willing to consider requests for flexible working. The most common flexible working arrangements include part-time working, flexible hours, home-working and job-sharing.
Salaries
Lawyers can expect to receive a fair and flexible pay and reward package.
Individual departments have responsibility for their own pay and grading structure. Consequently, starting salaries for lawyers will vary according their department, location and experience.
Information on the salary range is included in a department鈥檚 Vacancy Notice.
However, you might expect:
- Legal Officer - generally equivalent to 0 to 3 years鈥� post-qualified experience (PQE), around 拢47,000 (dependent on location and experience)
- Lawyer (Grade 7) - generally equivalent to 3 or more years鈥� PQE, around 拢60,000 (dependent on location and experience)
Pensions
As civil servants, lawyers are eligible to join the .
Civil Service pensions are part of the overall pay and rewards package.
Members contribute toward their pension and their employing departments also pay a significant contribution to their pension.
The pension scheme is set by statute and is managed by the Cabinet Office. It鈥檚 supported by a governance group of representatives nominated by Cabinet Office and the Council of Civil Service Unions.
Government Legal Training Programme
A training programme is available to government lawyers which includes a wide range of topics such as:
- International Trade law
- Constitutional, Administrative and Information law
- Commercial law
- Employment law
- Litigation
- Legislation
- Personal Effectiveness and Leadership
The training programme has been created by government lawyers. It concentrates on the specialist legal issues and broader skills essential to provide the government with a responsive and adaptable legal service.
Lawyers who are new to the Civil Service are required to attend a 2 day induction course which provides an insight into all aspects of government legal practice.
Civil Service Code
As civil servants, lawyers will be appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
Lawyers will be expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality:
- 鈥榠ntegrity鈥� is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests
- 鈥榟onesty鈥� is being truthful and open
- 鈥榦bjectivity鈥� is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
- 鈥榠mpartiality鈥� is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions