Assistant Parliamentary Counsel

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is a team within the Civil Service of around 50 lawyers and 10 support staff. Our job title is “counsel” but the job is open to barristers, solicitors and legal executives. Our main role is to draft Government Bills for introduction into Parliament and Government amendments to Bills as they go through Parliament on their way to becoming Acts.

Parliament can legislate about anything, so our work covers a wide variety of subjects and we do not specialise in any particular area of law. The Bills we draft can be hugely politically significant and topical, but may also be niche, specialised or technical. Our Office drafted the Bills that became Acts creating the NHS, nationalising and then privatising public utilities, delivering devolution, implementing Brexit and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences. In the past 12 months alone we’ve produced bills on subjects ranging from energy and online safety, through procurement, data protection, financial services and public order, to shark fins and mobile homes.

Because we may need to deal with legislation affecting any aspect of modern life, we recognise the importance of being a diverse organisation composed of excellent lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds.

We are committed to producing clear and effective legislation to the highest possible standards in the public interest. We lead the legislative drafting profession within Government and work to promote high standards of drafting and awareness of the principles underpinning good law. In addition to drafting Bills we advise the Government on Parliamentary procedure and liaise with Parliamentary authorities on behalf of the Government, we draft or review some subordinate legislation, where our expertise is called for, and we advise the Government on legal, Parliamentary and constitutional questions falling within our expertise.

Assistant Parliamentary Counsel (APCs) assist in all aspects of the Office’s work with a view to being able to take the lead on a Bill once they are promoted to the grade of Deputy Director (see the attached candidate information pack for further information).

APCs are supervised in their work, with the level of supervision reducing as they grow in expertise and experience, but will be responsible for drafting legislation from the beginning of their time in the Office. Although one drafter generally takes the lead on each Bill, and the First Parliamentary Counsel (the head of the Office) and team leaders oversee the work, the Office is a collaborative and nonhierarchical environment in which all contributions are welcome. APCs, working alongside a more experienced drafter, may be drafting deeply complex or controversial provisions from their very first day.

The main tasks of an APC are:
• To assist in drafting Bills which are effective, clearly written and well-structured (by both drafting and reviewing the work of other drafters);
• To work with officials across Government to ensure that the process of Bill preparation, publication and Parliamentary handling is handled
effectively and efficiently;
• To provide advice to Government departments on parliamentary procedure;
• To review, draft and advise on some subordinate legislation;
• To contribute to the training and development of other drafters, departmental lawyers, policy advisers and members of Bill teams (who coordinate work on a Bill);
• To contribute actively to the wider objectives of the Office (providing a high-quality drafting service, leading the legislative drafting profession within government, and promoting good law).

Find out more:

If, ahead of applying, you would like to find out more about what it is like working for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, come to our online ‘Meet the Parliamentary Counsel’ panel event, which will be held on Wednesday 6th December at 6pm. You can register your interest here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXK39I70J12NKQGzWjn0-rTJkyxjyVXmg9sJNupcnWPPqNyw/viewform

Because our selection process is competency-based, and some potential applicants may be unfamiliar with the assessment process, we are offering workshops to discuss how a range of experience might be used to demonstrate fit with the selection criteria in the application. Potential applicants will be able to attend on a first-come, first-served basis.

We are particularly keen to offer this support to individuals who are from backgrounds that are under-represented in the Office at the moment, such as disabled candidates, or black, Asian or other minority ethnic candidates, but it is open to anyone who feels that they may benefit from it.

None of the members of the Office attending the workshops will be members of the selection panel or able to discuss the workshops with the panel.

The workshops will be held in the weeks beginning 4th and 11th December. The precise dates of the workshops will be confirmed based on levels of interest, but on the dates they run, they will run from 6-7pm. If you would like to attend, please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3Pu_Ke0_LIsV0D_X84hCd92ntnocCokZEUQkQ0mwOitOnbA/viewform

More information about the Office can also be found on our website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-parliamentary-counsel.

It is important that, through your CV and supporting statement that you provide evidence of the professional skills, breadth of experience and personal qualities for this post. 

Essential Criteria

We are looking for lawyers who are motivated to produce legislation of the highest quality and who have the following skills and attributes:

• Excellent powers of analysis and reliable judgement in applying that analysis;
• Ability to express complex ideas clearly, coherently and accurately;
• Ability to master new information at speed, work under pressure and deliver at pace;
• Ability to problem solve and come up with creative solutions;
• Ability to work collaboratively;
• Good self-awareness and a commitment to learning and developing as a professional.

The skills and personal qualities we are looking for can be demonstrated through a wide range of legal and other experience.

We encourage and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, and particularly welcome applications from people who are disabled or who are black, Asian or from minority ethnic groups, as they are currently under-represented in the Office. 

• You should have a good honours degree (2:1 or above or an overseas equivalent) in any subject. Applicants who do not have a 2:1 degree are considered only where they provide strong evidence of equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement.

• You must be qualified to practise as a solicitor, barrister or chartered legal executive in England and Wales. If you are qualified in a jurisdiction outside England and Wales, you will be required to qualify in England and Wales within 2 years of appointment, and employment will be conditional upon doing so. You should note that qualifying in England and Wales involves a cost to the individual. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/ qualifying employment, or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, Bar Council or CILEx.

• Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply only if:

I. they hold a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD);

II. they have completed the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE; or

III. they have passed exams (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6*, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in

law:

i. Contract Law

ii. Criminal Law

iii. Equity and Trusts Law

iv. European Union Law

v. Land Law

vi. Public Law

vii. Law of Tort

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career within the Office and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits.

This includes:
• 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays.
• This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday;
• A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
• Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
• Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax- Free Childcare (TFC) scheme.
Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here: https://www.gov.uk/help-withchildcare-costs/childcare-vouchers;
• Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
• The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable);
• Occupational sick pay.

Job contact :

• Name : SCS Recruitment Team
• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk