Government Legal Department
Trade Lawyers (up to 10 roles)
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GOVERNMENT LEGAL DEPARTMENT
Trade Lawyers (up to 10 roles)
Job Reference: 481616
Location: Bristol, Croydon, Leeds, London, Manchester
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £61,124 (National) £3,189 (Croydon and London) Under 3 years’ PQE £51,541 (National, Croydon and London)
Closing date for applications: Midday 19th October
Much more than law
The Government Legal Department (GLD) is the largest provider of legal services across government, working with all the main Whitehall departments. From energy to security, and from roads and rivers to health and human rights, our work touches on most aspects of public life. Developing and drafting legislation, helping to secure economic and trade relationships, providing legal advice on policies and ensuring value from contracts, our work is as varied as it is stimulating.
These roles are with our Advisory Trade Law teams. They have a wide remit and are based in the legal divisions of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, HM Treasury, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Transport, the Home Office, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Department for Education. If your application is successful, we’ll match your CV and our business needs to a role with one of these teams.
Your role
When you join us as a Trade Lawyer you’ll be expected to advise on both Trade Law and Public Law, with the mix varying from role to role. Broadly speaking you’ll work on four main areas, and these are:
- The negotiation and implementation of international agreements
- EU relations, including EU reset, rights and obligations under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the Windsor Framework
- Offering policy and implementation advice in the context of trade law
- Dispute resolution in international and domestic forums
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With this in mind, you’ll provide targeted trade law and public law advice in a range of formats, draft and analyse treaty text and legislation, and work on negotiations, disputes, dispute risks and policy development. Committed to building and maintaining strong relationships with key policy and legal stakeholders and negotiating partners, we’ll also expect you to manage client relationships and a busy legal workstream.
About you
To be a success in one of these roles you’ll have strong organisational skills, the ability to manage a busy and varied workload while meeting demanding deadlines, and exceptional attention to detail. Committed to producing legally sound work of the highest quality, we’ll expect you to be capable of prioritising and multi-tasking, and using your strong intellectual, analytical and problem solving skills in your day-to-day responsibilities. Able to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly, you should also have a good understanding of the role of lawyers in government.
You should be a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, and will have completed a training contract, pupillage or qualifying employment, or been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx. You’ll also need a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree in any subject in your first degree (or its overseas equivalent), or evidence of high-level academic or professional achievement, such as a Graduate Diploma in Law, Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course, any of which must be underpinned by practical experience.
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Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where a qualifying law degree is held or the Graduate Diploma in Law has been completed, or where CILEx Level 6 exams have been passed at 50% or above in Contract Law, Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts Law, European Union Law, Land Law, Public Law and the Law of Tort.
All GLD employees must hold Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) vetting, and must hold or be willing to obtain Security Check (SC) level clearance. More information about the vetting process can be found here.
Benefits
While your previous experience may be relevant, Government work is likely to involve a rapid learning curve as you acquire a number of legal skills and knowledge not required in private practice. However, we will provide you with the support you’ll need to acquire the necessary expertise, and have a thriving CPD-accredited in-house training programme.
GLD encourages its people to develop their skills in a nurturing environment. Other benefits include access to a valuable civil service pension and flexible working arrangements.
Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.
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