Starting salary
Over £21,300 (in London); varies
according to Government Department
Vacancies
20-30
Total number of trainees
Around 50
Minimum qualifications
2.1 degree in any subject
Sponsorship
LPC/BVC
Offices
Nationwide but mostly London
How to apply
Online application form
Contact
or visit
What's so special about the Government
Legal Service?
Ask any lawyer with the Government Legal
Service (GLS) what they love about it most,
and they'll probably cite the intellectual
challenge, the political interest and the
chance to help shape public law.
They may also mention the fact that they're
never pigeonholed and can move from one
government department to another. Whether
they trained as a solicitor or barrister, or came
to the profession via a law degree or the law
conversion route, is irrelevant.
What counts is the quality of the attributes
that they bring to the job, as well as to
this unique organisation. The GLS joins
together some 1950 lawyers who work in
around 30 Government organisations across
Government, including major Departments
of State and the regulatory bodies. Those
organisationally separate areas of Government
legal provision the Crown Prosecution
Service, for example maintain close links
with the GLS. There may be anything from
one to over 400 lawyers in a single
Government organisation, and collectively
they cover the whole spectrum of Government
activity from asylum to zoology.
GLS lawyers work as part of a team, so
people skills are important. Equally
important are communication skills,
especially the ability to express yourself
clearly and precisely.
Anthony Inglese is the Solicitor/Director
General of Legal Services at the Department
for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory
Reform (DBERR), formerly the Department
of Trade and Industry. He is involved both
in looking after trainee lawyers and
in appointing qualified lawyers to key
GLS positions.
We're looking for sharp analytical skills
coupled with good problem-solving skills
and a lawyer can have those skills whether
he or she has taken a law degree or followed
the conversion (Common Professional
Examination) route, he says.
Then, of course, GLS lawyers need good
legal ability or at least good legal potential.
The GLS recruits lawyers at every stage of a
legal career, and one of our great strengths is
people development. It makes no difference
to us what route a lawyer has taken to
reach us.
As well as recruiting qualified lawyers, the
GLS takes on around 25 trainees a year from
outside Government, recruiting two years in
advance. Nearly all stay on after completing
their training and very few want to leave!
There's nothing like the buzz of dealing
with high profile legal issues of national
and international importance drafting
legislation, advising ministers and officials,
playing a key role in public inquiries and
dealing with ground-breaking cases in the
courts. Their work is unique in its breadth and
diversity, and has a major impact on the lives
of millions of people in the UK.
If you'd like to know more about the unique
world of the Government Legal Service, take
a look at our website
It
might be the best move you've ever made!
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