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Working for the Government Legal Department?

I’m currently a first year law student and initially wanted to be a solicitor however I’ve been put off by the poor work life balance and the work of (well paying) private firms hasn’t really interested me

I almost gave up on the dream until I heard about the Government Legal Department and becoming a solicitor for the Government. It all sounds too good to be true!

Does anyone here work as a solicitor for the GLD or know any information about it? Would I be able to join as a graduate or is it only for existing lawyers?
Hi, I'm an applicant for this year's GLD scheme and a final year law student. There's a GLD applicants' thread on here floating about that has a lot more info and people on it who know a lot more than me :smile:

You can apply in your penultimate or final year of law school, just like you do with a regular training contract. You could also apply as a graduate too I assume, whether or not you've completed the LPC. The website has a lot more information - you can work for the GLD, HMRC, etc. The only difference is there's no vacation scheme, it's straight TC applications only. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/recruitment

Just a note - if poor work/life balance is the only thing that puts you off about private work, don't throw that idea totally out the window just yet. There's a lot more fields than commercial (private client, public law, arbitration, etc) and lots of them have great work/life balances, just like your average office job.
Reply 2
Avatar for d-m1
d-m1
OP
17
Original post by kp07l
Hi, I'm an applicant for this year's GLD scheme and a final year law student. There's a GLD applicants' thread on here floating about that has a lot more info and people on it who know a lot more than me :smile:

You can apply in your penultimate or final year of law school, just like you do with a regular training contract. You could also apply as a graduate too I assume, whether or not you've completed the LPC. The website has a lot more information - you can work for the GLD, HMRC, etc. The only difference is there's no vacation scheme, it's straight TC applications only. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/recruitment

Just a note - if poor work/life balance is the only thing that puts you off about private work, don't throw that idea totally out the window just yet. There's a lot more fields than commercial (private client, public law, arbitration, etc) and lots of them have great work/life balances, just like your average office job.


Thanks so much! I’ll definitely have a look for those threads :smile:

Could you name any of those private firms? I don’t have any links with solicitors and it feels so confusing to find information! Thank you :smile:
Reply 3
Avatar for d-m1
d-m1
OP
17
Original post by kp07l
Hi, I'm an applicant for this year's GLD scheme and a final year law student. There's a GLD applicants' thread on here floating about that has a lot more info and people on it who know a lot more than me :smile:

You can apply in your penultimate or final year of law school, just like you do with a regular training contract. You could also apply as a graduate too I assume, whether or not you've completed the LPC. The website has a lot more information - you can work for the GLD, HMRC, etc. The only difference is there's no vacation scheme, it's straight TC applications only. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/recruitment

Just a note - if poor work/life balance is the only thing that puts you off about private work, don't throw that idea totally out the window just yet. There's a lot more fields than commercial (private client, public law, arbitration, etc) and lots of them have great work/life balances, just like your average office job.


Also, would you say the salaries working as a government solicitor would be good? Since its a public sector this is something I’m wary of
Original post by m-k1
Also, would you say the salaries working as a government solicitor would be good? Since its a public sector this is something I’m wary of

I don't really know much about the salary but from a quick Google the salary looks to be around £40k+ which is better than most non-commercial private firms tbh.

Original post by m-k1
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely have a look for those threads :smile:

Could you name any of those private firms? I don’t have any links with solicitors and it feels so confusing to find information! Thank you :smile:

In my experience the majority of non-commercial firms/firms outside London generally have a pretty good work-life balance! You might want to look at firms specialising in private client work or smaller, non-city firms. Lex 100 also has a list of top rated firms for work-life balance here https://www.lex100.com/survey/the-lex-100-winners/how-would-you-rate-the-work-life-balance-at-your-firm/

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