Lawyer in Leeds

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.

The dynamic Home Office Legal Advisers Directorate provides legal advice to the Home Office and the Northern Ireland Office. Made up of around 120 lawyers and management staff, our friendly and collaborative teams cover a broad spectrum of work. For example, we advise on a range of immigration issues, including asylum, refugees, resettlement schemes, border control, small boats, international strategy, EU cooperation, work and study routes, passports and appeals reform.

We also work on security and public safety matters, including crime reduction, creating safer neighbourhoods, supporting victims and protecting vulnerable people. In addition, we advise on national security, AI, online harms, police powers and serious organised crime. Your exact role will depend on your experience and interests, as well as our priorities at the time of your application.

Join us in one of these important roles and you’ll support the goals of the Home Office and Northern Ireland Office as you draft legal advice to Ministers and provide written and oral briefings to officials. Advising on a wide range of high profile, complex, precedent-setting legal issues with significant political and reputational implications, you and your team’s work could attract significant media attention, and you may be required to provide advice at short notice in response to Parliamentary questions and media briefings.

We also work on a substantive portfolio of primary and secondary legislation, and it will be your task to support policy leads as they develop fit-for-purpose legislation. This will include testing proposals to ensure they are robust and workable, and – for primary legislation– drafting instructions to Parliamentary Counsel. Secondary legislation is drafted both in-house and by working closely with specialist drafters within the wider GLD. We’re also frequently involved in litigation, and you’ll be expected to work closely with your specialist litigation colleagues to ensure Departments are fully equipped to respond.

Legal teams across Whitehall frequently work together, creating opportunities to work cross-Whitehall with policy and legal partners. With this in mind we’ll encourage you to develop your knowledge and skills, and offer opportunities to move between advisory, litigation, employment and commercial law services during your career. You should also be aware that for some roles travel within the UK may be required.

All GLD employees must hold Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) vetting. If your application is successful you must also hold or be willing to obtain Security Check (SC) level clearance.

To be a success in one of these roles you should possess a well developed understanding of general public law, highly reliable legal judgement and a good appreciation of risk. Capable of thinking strategically and creatively, and of seeing legal issues in their wider context and advising accordingly, you should also be ready to use sound analysis and secure research to produce timely and fit-for-purpose advice. Able to work in a technical area alongside policy and operational colleagues, experience of offering fast-paced advice in a political environment would be desirable, as would some knowledge and experience of immigration and/or nationality law.

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. 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.

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.

Closing date for applications: 17th September 2026