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Government Legal Department Trainee Scheme AC
- Thread starter Roland
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Last year it was c 225 out of c 6.5k applicants. I think there were maybe 10-20 on the day I did it, which was one of the later dates. They do a communal chat and explain the assessment task to the full group, but you don't get to see them other than that. Also, I could be wrong but I think that you can pass the AC and still not be offered a TC, as they then take the top 60-75 (however many they are recruiting). It's tough!
Jessica Booker
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This is very common in public sector. The pass mark tends to be fairly low, but they have to take the top scoring candidates as they have very strict “fairness” requirements, written into law! It is a requirement of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act that selection for recruitment to the Civil Service must be on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, which means the top scoring candidate have to be offered the job over lower scoring candidates.
I had misread the question, I thought we were talking about the number of TCs available! I would agree with you on the number of applicants at the AC.
Many of the GLD paralegals I know were offered a paralegal role instead of a TC as they passed the benchmark but were not in the top bracket.
Hey! Congrats!
It's my first AC as well but I think you should be able to find answers to your questions earlier on this thread. You won't be at a disadvantage not having studied law as they don't award points for legal knowledge!
Which day have you booked?
I've booked the last day (Thursday 19th morning slot) so that I have maximum prep time haha, what about you?
The thread is super useful - thanks! I'm looking around for some example written tests as writing under pressure is not my strong point - have you come across any? all the ones I've found seem to cost money annoyingly
I'd suggest you take a look at some legislation such as the Dangerous Dogs Act (so fairly practical) and just get to know the way it's structured. Then spend maybe 20 mins writing (1) a letter to a local councillor in response to an issue he's approached the govt about, say, complaints about dogs not on leads in the park or planning issues or difficulties with abandoned properties. Then maybe (2) 20 mins looking at ways it could be improved. Then maybe (3) 20 mins drafting a note to a minister about that. Then maybe (4) write a response to a news article about how the govt are tackling the DD Act implementation. Or something.
Google some stuff about the DD Act. Maybe find some stats and see what they tell you.
Basically, you will be asked to respond to something like a fictitious Act, showing different purposes of writing. It's not really technical in that it's legally rooted but you don't need formal training. Good luck!
That's so useful thank you! So would it be essentially apologising to the councillor/recognising their complaint and confirming that you'll look into the legislation, looking into possible alterations, outlining them to the minister and confirming the gov's approach in response to the news article? And altering your communication style accordingly? Thanks again
Definitely altering your style, I think they really want to see that, plus attention to detail. I think the approach should be dependent on content but as a lawyer, you need to be careful about apologising as it implies a degree of responsibility being taken for the issue. This is why it's such a big deal when the govt apologises, think Daily Mail headline 'PM Apologises for M6 mess up' or similar. I'd stick to polite facts rather than apologies but I just made the scenario up to help so it won't be quite like that anyway. Have fun!That's so useful thank you! So would it be essentially apologising to the councillor/recognising their complaint and confirming that you'll look into the legislation, looking into possible alterations, outlining them to the minister and confirming the gov's approach in response to the news article? And altering your communication style accordingly? Thanks again
Hi again Alison, I've just been looking back over the thread and I saw you advised doing an exec summary at the start our responses/answers in the written exercise.
Can I confirm that what you mean by this is a short paragraph at the start of an email/letter/article essentially summarising the issue and your response? Before elaborating in the main body of the answer?
Thanks!
Can I confirm that what you mean by this is a short paragraph at the start of an email/letter/article essentially summarising the issue and your response? Before elaborating in the main body of the answer?
Thanks!
Exactly. For each section where you consider it relevant, you just do a short few sentences summarising your approach and/or findings. That way a busy person can know your thinking before they have to look through your reasoning. It keeps it accessible and efficient, and if you do it after the main activity it will crystallize your own thoughts before you proofread.
'I've addressed these issues by presenting a bullet-pointed list of my findings, which lead me to suggest that....."
"The X Press is known for blah blah and I've reflected that in my answer, keeping the tone polite but firm, and noting that there is already funding for this ...." (those are not great examples but you can see what I mean).
Remember, the idea is that you are working for Ministers. They are really busy people. Your role is to advise them what is legal and what is not, though they can still ignore you (think Prorogation). As long as you've told them clearly what the legal position is, they can decide how close to the wind they want to sail.
You have to clearly express what the data (in the table you may have been given in your exercise) shows, and why that's important for this town in Yorkshire/N Ireland/Cornwall. Which category does it actually fall in? What does that mean, now that it has just stopped getting its development funding? How might the decision impact ongoing local projects, such as HS2? You can explain how defining something in one category rather than another might have implications they haven't previously considered.
Govt lawyers also draft legislation. Sometimes they have to publish updates or improvements, all of which need to be properly worded and be approved by Parliament. But, for example, you could be asked how to improve on a piece of legislation or to update it post-pandemic. Is the legislation fit for purpose? Does it no longer work for some reason, that can be assessed and modified? How can you suggest it might be improved on?
Govt lawyers also make statements. Whenever you read 'a govt spokesperson said that....', even if it's been written by PR, it will have to be approved by Legal. So you have to be aware of the press's agenda. Also note conflicts of interest - I think in my task I had to advise on some lobbying by a newspaper, and there was a hint that some MP's cousin was involved or something??
But really, don't worry too much about the written task, just read it really carefully and think about the issues I've tried to touch on. Make sure you don't just think about London. Know a little about the NI protocol. Know that even though it's political, it can't be political. Etc etc....
Enjoy!
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Jessica Booker
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