Legal Trainee Scheme in London

Details
Reference number

442629

Salary

£34,695

GLD\’s first and second year salaries are currently:

First year: 34,695

Second year: £39,645

HMRC\’s first and second year salaries are currently:

First year: £41,631

Second year: 42,752

Salaries differ according to department and location. Salaries and terms & conditions are subject to review/change.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Other

Legal Trainee

Contract type

Fixed term

Length of employment

2 years

Business area

GLP – Legal Profession

Type of role

Legal Services

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

8

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Leeds, London

About the job
Job summary

The Government Legal Profession (GLP) Legal Trainee Scheme offers you the opportunity to start your legal career by undertaking your pupil barrister training in either the Government Legal Department (GLD), or, HMRC Solicitor\’s Office and Legal Services (SOLS).

Job description

Whether the government is buying goods and services, setting the annual budget and collecting the right amount of tax, employing people, or defending its decisions in court, it needs significant levels of legal advice on a whole range of complex issues.

You can expect to be fully involved in a range of interesting legal work and to receive high quality training in a supportive and inclusive working environment.

You will have the opportunity to build a rewarding legal career, working on some of the biggest legal issues of the day. The work is cutting edge, public-serving, and often headline news. If that wasn\’t enough, you may have the opportunity to make the law, not just interpret it.

Whilst this can never be guaranteed, on successful completion of the two-year training programme, departments hope to be able to offer a permanent qualified lawyer position. This will be subject to meeting the standards applied in the recruitment of qualified lawyers.

What you can expect

The training programme will last two years in total. No account will be taken of training completed elsewhere. You will be employed on a two-year fixed term training contract.

The pupillage period (first 12 months) is likely to comprise of a six-month (non-practising) training seat in the department (i.e. GLD or HMRC) and a six-month (practising) seat in a set of external barristers\’ chambers.

The Professional Statement describes the knowledge, skills and attributes that you will need to develop and apply during the pupillage period in order to qualify as a barrister. During the remaining 12 months of the training programme you will be provided with wider experience of the department\’s legal work.

Whilst you can expect to be involved in the wide and interesting range of work in which the department and chambers are involved and you will be offered the advocacy opportunities necessary to complete your pupillage successfully, we use the services of external counsel for nearly all of our court-based advocacy. This means that court-based advocacy opportunities are extremely limited. Those wishing to focus principally on a court-based advocacy career should bear this in mind.

As part of our current smarter working policies, employees are expected to work at least 60% of their contracted hours each month from a GLD/ HMRC office (unless adjustments are agreed for disability or caring responsibilities).

The training on offer will commence in September 2027 with a couple of places available to start in September 2026. Whilst many of the trainee positions are based in London, including all HMRC positions, GLD is also offering opportunities in Leeds too. Offers will be made according to each location in merit order.

Candidate Information Session

A one-hour online (MS Teams) session is being arranged to give those who have applied/or who are in the process of applying/ interested in applying for these positions an opportunity to find out more about the training that is provided by GLD and HMRC to those looking to qualify as barristers and the recruitment process.

This session will take place on Tuesday 13th January :00-15:00. To join, please use the MS Teams link which will be made available within the timetable on the GLP website. Please note that you will not be able to enter the MS Teams link until the time of the session.

Person specification

A detailed Person Specification, setting out the skills and behaviours required (e.g. making effective decisions, communicating and influencing, delivering at pace and motivation for the role) is available on the GLP Website.

What do you need to be eligible to apply?

As you would expect, there are some must haves. The minimum being that you must meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements and have obtained, or be predicted to obtain, a minimum of a 2:2 (Hons) in a qualifying law degree or in an undergraduate degree in a non-law subject; or hold equivalent qualifications (e.g. CILEx) as recognised by the professional bodies.

You\’ll also need to have successfully completed the Graduate Diploma in Law/CPE (i.e. a law conversion which covers the foundation topics in law) where a degree is held in a non-law subject; and the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)/ Bar Training Course (BTC) before you join us for the start of your pupillage.

Further details can be found on the GLP website.

Note: The GLP Legal Trainee Scheme is not open to anyone who is already a qualified solicitor or barrister; anyone who has previously completed or is currently on the GLP Legal Trainee Scheme; or anyone who has already qualified as a lawyer in another jurisdiction.

For the Pupil Barrister position in Leeds, starting early September 2026, you will need to have successfully completed (i.e. passed) the BPTC/BTC at the point of applying.

Security Clearance

All employees must hold BPSS security clearance and be willing and able to obtain SC level security clearance. You can find out more about the vetting and clearance levels before completing your application here.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,695, Government Legal Profession contributes £10,051 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Funding is available for the Bar Training Course (BTC) where the course has not been started, at the point of offer

Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

We recommend that you take some time navigating our careers site; we want you to be as prepared as possible for your application journey. You\’ll also find more information regarding our eligibility criteria, selection process, sponsorship arrangements, funding arrangements and where your career path can take you.

And a reminder the opening date for applications is Monday 5th January and the deadline for the online application form to be submitted is Thursday 22nd January at 23:59pm.

To apply for a role, please use the link which can be found on the GLP website: Legal trainee scheme – GOV.UK

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission\’s recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : GLD Recruitment Team
• Email :
• Telephone : or

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application hasn\’t been treated in accordance with these Principles and wish to make a complaint, please contact in the first instance. Please title your email as follows: – Legal Trainee Scheme – Pupil Barrister – Recruitment Complaint. Complaints must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the incident or the decision which has caused the complaint. To fully engage with the issues raised GLD require that you submit evidence of your complaint.