Legal trainee scheme
Information on the Trainee Solicitor and Pupil Barrister opportunities available within government departments
Introduction
The work of government lawyers and trainees is challenging, unique and often headline news.
The legal solutions we provide pervade almost every aspect of today’s society. It’s a terrific responsibility.
The legal trainee scheme (LTS) is the term that we use to describe the training available within a number of government departments.
The departments that typically offer legal trainee places through the LTS are:
- Government Legal Department (GLD)
- Government Legal Department (GLD) Commercial
- HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
- National Crime Agency (NCA)
- Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
We are looking to recruit high quality legal trainees to play an active role in legal work that really makes a difference.
This short film showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.
In these video Saira (GLD) and Charles (HMRC) provide an insight into their experiences as legal trainees/post qualification.
In these articles Amy (GLD), Ben (GLD), Chantal (CMA), Ella (NCA), Helen (GLD Commercial), Jake (HMRC), Jack (GLD), James (GLD Commercial), Kyle (GLD Commercial), Milan (CMA) and Rachel (GLD DfT) discuss their experiences as legal trainees.
Training Contract / Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) structure
If your application is successful you will be allocated to one of the recruiting departments i.e. GLD, GLD Commercial (CLGp or DfT Legal Advisers), HMRC, NCA and CMA.
Your training will be the responsibility of that department. The nature of your training will vary according to the department you have been allocated to.
As part of your training you will be given a broad range of experience in government legal work.
If you have a particular interest in commercial law, you may wish to consider applying for the trainee positions available within GLD Commercial.
Departments only offer full 2-year training contracts or QWE and do not take into account previous training or QWE completed elsewhere.
Pupillage structure
If your application is successful you will be allocated to one of the recruiting departments i.e. GLD and HMRC.
Your training will be the responsibility of that department. The nature of your training will vary according to the department you have been allocated to.
The training period offered by departments will last 2 years (and will not take into account previous training completed elsewhere).
During the pupillage period (the first 12 months) your time will be split between your department and a set of external barristers’ Chambers. The remainder of the training period will be completed within your department.
Barristers working within government departments may be given the opportunity to conduct cases in tribunals or courts. However the extent of that opportunity will vary between departments and teams.
Government departments tend to use the services of external counsel for much of their court work. This means that legal trainees get the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced panel counsel who are leading experts in their respective fields.
Court-based advocacy opportunities are likely to be very limited. Candidates wishing to focus principally on a court-based advocacy career should bear this in mind.
What happens at the end of the 2 year training programme
Whilst this can never be guaranteed, after successful completion of the 2-year training programme, the recruiting departments hope to be able to offer a qualified lawyer position (this may be subject to a probation period in some departments).
The arrangements in place for newly qualified lawyers differ between departments and may be subject change. Please see details below.
GLD – Post Qualification
GLD hopes to be able to offer a permanent qualified lawyer role, starting at Legal Officer level.
GLD continues to support newly qualified lawyers with a range of development programmes.
Typically, you will be posted according to business priorities and vacancies at the time of being offered a permanent qualified lawyer role in GLD.
Legal trainees recruited into the Commercial law legal trainee scheme will follow a specialist pathway upon qualification and remain in the commercial law environment.
HMRC - Post Qualification
In HMRC Solicitor’s Office you will typically be placed in a litigation or advisory team.
After one year post qualification as a Legal Officer there will be the opportunity for progression to Grade 7. If you started your post qualification in a litigation team the likelihood is that the next team will be advisory (and vice versa).
You are expected to move on a regular basis in the early part of your career. The variety of work at HMRC means no two careers will be alike, allowing you to either become specialists in a particular area or spend time in a variety of different areas.
There are opportunities for training and development to enable lawyers to influence how they wish their career to progress in the future.
NCA - Post Qualification
In NCA you will typically join one of the department’s legal teams i.e. Civil Litigation, Data and Operational Advisory, Disruptions Actions Litigation (i.e. immigration disruption, civil orders and sanctions), Employment and Commercial and Financial Disruptions Litigation.
Typically, you will be posted according to business priorities and vacancies, but there will be an opportunity to express a preference for the legal team you wish to qualify into. Should you accept a qualified lawyer position, the NCA expects you to remain within NCA Legal for a minimum of two years post qualification.
After one year post qualification as a NCA Grade 3 (Newly Qualified) you will, subject to satisfactory performance, progress to NCA Grade 2 (Lawyer). There are frequent opportunities to move between teams. Alternatively, you will typically have the opportunity to specialise in a particular field.
As a leading law enforcement agency, NCA Legal encompasses a wide variety of work and no two careers are the same. Whatever route you choose, there are opportunities for training and development to enable lawyers to influence their future careers.
As a lawyer with the NCA you will play a key part in enabling the Agency to succeed in its mission in protecting the public from serious and organised crime.
CMA - Post Qualification
Should you be offered a newly qualified lawyer position at the CMA - which is not guaranteed but subject only to meeting our newly qualified lawyer (NQ) criteria - you will be asked whether you prefer to join either an advisory team or litigation team.
You are eligible to apply for a Grade 7 post whenever you feel you are able to meet the criteria.
We work to promote competition for the benefit of consumers across all sectors of the UK economy. Through our various tools and matrix working model, as a NQ, you will have the opportunity to work across a range of teams - from mergers and markets, regulatory appeals, to cartels and consumer law.
As a world-leading competition authority, our work is varied, high-profile and underpinned by the highest professional standards.
Our staff work across the UK and we have offices in Belfast, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester. Through our commitment to flexible working, we support our staff to do their best work, wherever they are.
We are committed to maximising our employees’ potential by supporting them to develop the knowledge, professional and technical skills and experience required to advance their careers.
We offer a range of professional and skills training through the CMA Academy, as well as access to Civil Service wide learning and development opportunities.
Funding
Funding arrangements for the Legal Practice Course (LPC), Barrister Training Course (BTC) and the Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE) differs according to departments.
The SQE route on offer in 2025 is only for those who have yet to pass SQE1 and/or SQE2.
Successful candidates will be required to complete an SQE1 and/or SQE2 prep course under the arrangements put in place by the relevant department.
Whilst departments will accept applications from those who have passed SQE1, retrospective funding (prep course and assessment) for SQE1 will not be available.
Departments do not accept applications from candidates seeking QWE only and who have already passed both the SQE1 and SQE2 (or are part-way through an SQE-integrated programme).
Departments are unable to provide funding for the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/ Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL)/ CPE (law conversion course).
Below provides details of funding available in each of the recruiting departments.
Government Legal Department (GLD)
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Funding is available for the LPC for those offered a trainee solicitor position for a 2024 start i.e. payment of course fees and a bursary where the course has not been started or only just started around the time of offer (i.e. started during September 2023)
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Funding is available for the BTC for those offered a pupillage for a 2025 start i.e. payment of BTC fees and a bursary where the course has not been started or only just started around the time of offer (i.e. started during September 2023)
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Funding is available for the SQE for those offered a trainee solicitor place for a 2025 start i.e. provision of prep courses, payment of assessment fees and a pro-rata bursary. GLD’s SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses will be delivered in partnership with BPP (at various regional locations) commencing in September 2024. The prep courses will be arranged by GLD’s Trainee Development Team
GLD will accept applications from those following the LPC route in 2025. However, funding will not be available for the LPC.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
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Funding is available for the LPC for those offered a trainee solicitor place to start in 2024 or 2025 i.e. payment of course fees and a bursary where the course has not been started or only just started around the time of offer (i.e. started during September 2023)
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Funding is available for the BTC for those offered a pupillage in 2024 or 2025 i.e. payment of course fees and a bursary where the course has not been started or only just started around the time of offer (i.e. started during September 2023)
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Funding is available for the SQE for those offered a trainee solicitor place in 2025 i.e. provision of prep courses, payment of assessment fees and a pro-rata bursary. HMRC is likely to put in place an arrangement with a specific training provider for the provision of SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses commencing in September 2024
National Crime Agency (NCA)
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Funding is available for the LPC for those offered a trainee solicitor place to start in 2025 i.e. payment of course fees and a bursary where the course has not been started or only just started around the time of offer (i.e. started during September 2023)
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Funding is available for the SQE for those offered a trainee solicitor place to start in 2025 i.e. provision of SQE prep courses, payment of assessment fees and a pro-rata bursary. NCA is likely to put in place an arrangement with a specific training provider for the provision of SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses commencing in September 2024
Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
- Funding is available for the SQE for those offered a trainee solicitor place for a 2025 start i.e. provision of prep courses, payment of assessment fees and a pro-rata bursary. CMA is likely to put in place an arrangement with a specific training provider for the provision of SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses commencing in September 2024
CMA will accept applications from those following the LPC route for 2025, where the LPC has been successfully completed at the time of applying. However, funding will not be available for the LPC.
Salaries
Salaries differ according to department and location and are subject to review and change.
Below provides details of legal trainee salaries currently available in each of the recruiting departments.
Government Legal Department (GLD)
For legal trainees on the generalist, commercial and Leeds schemes, the current salary details are below.
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Current 1st year legal trainee salary (London and Leeds): £31,696
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Current 2nd year legal trainee salary (London and Leeds): £36,218
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
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Current 1st year and 2nd year legal trainee salary (London): £39,111
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Current 1st year and 2nd year legal trainee salary (National): £34,404
National Crime Agency (NCA)
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Current 1st year legal trainee salary (London): £30,740
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Current 2nd year legal trainee salary (London): £38,642
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NCA also pays London weighting which amounts to around an additional £3,595
Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
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Current 1st year legal trainee salary (London): £31,696
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Current 2nd year legal trainee salary (London): £36,218
Retention
Departments aim to offer all those recruited as legal trainees a permanent qualified lawyer post on successful completion of the training period. However, this can never be guaranteed.
Temporary Administrative Roles
Departments such as GLD, HMRC, NCA and CMA advertise their administrative opportunities on the Civil Service Jobs website.
After the LTS recruitment campaign has finished, it may be possible to offer successful candidates and/or those on the reserve list a short-term administrative role within a department but this cannot be guaranteed.
Diversity Summer Scheme
The Diversity Summer Scheme normally takes place over one week.
The scheme is for undergraduates or graduates from diverse backgrounds which are currently under-represented across the legal profession.
The Diversity Summer Scheme has previously worked in partnership with the following organisations:
- Aspiring Solicitors
- Law Society Diversity Access Scheme
- Social Mobility Foundation
- Bridging the Bar
- Black Lawyers Circle
If this scheme is something you might be interested in, you will need to consider joining one of these organisations as places are allocated through them.
Each organisation will also have their own application process (which we are not involved in).
Participants will get an insight into the work of government lawyers through talks and workshops. Also, there will be a few tours arranged, for example, of the Supreme Court and Parliament.
Outside of the Diversity Summer Scheme, there are no other vacation placement schemes or work experience opportunities available.
However, it is important to understand that the Diversity Summer Scheme is not used to assess suitability for the Legal Trainee Scheme.
The application processes for the Diversity Summer Scheme and Legal Trainee Scheme are separate. If you obtain a summer placement and wish to apply for the LTS, you will need to apply through our legal trainee scheme application process.
Last updated 26 April 2023 + show all updates
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Launch of the 2023 GLP legal trainee scheme recruitment campaign
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Updated application link
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Launch of the 2022 GLP legal trainee scheme campaign
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Lunch of the 2021 Legal Trainee Scheme
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Launch of the 2020 Legal Trainee Scheme
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Launch of the 2019 legal trainee scheme
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Trainee Solicitor and Pupil Barrister opportunities available in the 2018 legal trainee scheme
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GLS Legal Trainee Scheme is open for those interested in a training contract or pupillage in government departments such as GLD, HMRC and NCA.
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Updated to replace references to BIS with new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
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GLS Legal Trainee Scheme is open.
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Announcement of the 2016 GLS Legal Trainee Scheme.
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Updated to reflect changes to vacation placement provision.
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Updated to reflect launch of application process
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Updated ahead of 2015 43cruitment campaign
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Updated to include detail about the 2015 legal trainee scheme recruitment campaign.
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Updated information regarding the GLD vacation placement scheme
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GLS graduate brochure added to page
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First published.