Infrastructure Barrister

Planning and Infrastructure Lawyers

Government Legal Department

Locations: London, Leeds, Manchester or Bristol

Salary for Lawyers: £59,200 (National) or £61,200 (London)

Salary for Legal Officers: £47,541

Support the Government’s workforce with high quality employment advice

Who we are

At the Government Legal Department (GLD), we’re responsible for providing legal guidance on issues that really matter. As the largest provider of legal services to the Government, we offer support on issues ranging from human rights to social care, and from education to the environment. Working with every key department in Whitehall, nearly 3,000 team members collaborate to handle issues that impact on every aspect of society.

Whether developing and drafting legislation, providing guidance on policies, driving value from contracts or bolstering economic and trade relationships with national and international partners, this is deeply meaningful work that other employers simply cannot match. Because where else would you have the opportunity to advise on policies and services that directly affect the wellbeing of the population? Join us, and you’ll enjoy all the support you need to deliver the best possible results for people from every walk of life.

The roles

We’re currently looking for Lawyers and Legal Officers to join teams attached to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and our own Planning, Infrastructure and Environment Litigation team.

Join the DLUHC team and you’ll advise on a wide range of high profile cases, work that will provide you with excellent public law experience. Recent cases include climate change challenges against decisions involving mineral extraction and environmental assessment, challenges to decisions to call-in applications for planning permission, and challenges in relation to changes to definitions in the planning policy for traveller sites.

The DESNZ provides legal support on planning casework and policy development, and if you join this team your work will range from offering legal support on planning consent applications for large energy infrastructure projects to working planning reforms. The team also supports new developments in response to government commitments on net zero and energy security, and provides advisory support on judicial reviews.

The GLD Litigation team represents the DLUHC, the DESNZ and the Department for Transport and covers the full range of public law planning litigation relating to appeals and challenges against decisions relating to infrastructure projects. The team also works on legislative regimes pertaining to – for example – environmental assessments or climate change.

About you

To be a success in one of these roles you should have good knowledge, understanding and experience of planning, environmental, infrastructure and public law, excellent legal judgment and a sound appreciation of legal risk. It’s important that you’re able to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context, and advise accordingly. We’ll also expect you to be able to provide sound analysis based on solid legal research, and communicate at all times in a confident and effective manner.

With a good understanding of the role of lawyers in government, you’ll be a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, and will havecompleted a training, contract, pupillage or qualifying employment, or have 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.

In return, we can offer you a competitive benefits package that includes a generous contributory pension scheme, 25 days of annual leave rising to 30 after 5 years’ service (plus 8 public holidays) and a range of extras such as parental leave, season ticket and bicycle loans. With flexible working arrangements so that you can seamlessly blend your career and lifestyle, you will find much to enjoy at the Government Legal Department.

For more information

If you would like to discuss one of these roles in more detail, please contact our recruitment team at

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