The Government Legal Department (GLD) offers a 2-year training programme, which gives legal trainees the opportunity to get experience in both contentious and non-contentious areas of law across a variety of government departments.
Being the largest provider of legal services across government, GLD offers the opportunity to work with all the main Whitehall departments. From roads to rivers, health to human rights, and more recently Brexit, its work touches on most aspects of public life.
Two former GLD trainees reflect on their experiences during their training contracts:
India Burnett, GLD’s Treasury Legal Advisers:
My work touched on a vast range of subject areas, including EU law, employment law, intellectual property, public procurement, immigration law and prison law. During this time I was able to manage my own cases, advise government departments and draft statutory instruments.
This variety was incredibly beneficial in getting a first-hand insight into several areas of interest rather than being pushed to specialise early on.
Jonathan Orde, GLD’s Litigation Group:
The highlight of my pupillage was representing the government in court. It was, and continues to be, an enormous privilege to be able to do this while still at such a junior level.
GLD goes to great lengths to make pupils feel part of the organisation and there is a real focus on helping us develop our careers. At a group level, the Attorney General, the Treasury Solicitor and Director of Litigation took time to meet us during our training, to help develop our understanding of our roles. We had frequent access to our supervisors, and a network of recently qualified lawyers to guide us. This really helps create a strong bond with the organisation from the outset.
The Government Legal Department is currently recruiting for trainee solicitors and barristers. There are 6 places available to start in 2018 and 30 places for 2019. The deadline for applications is 12pm (noon) 28 July.
You can find out more about the scheme on the Government Legal Service website.