The Attorney General is seeking to appoint new members to three of her panels of junior counsel, the Regional A, B and C Panels, to undertake civil work for government departments.
Membership of the Regional Panels is open to both barristers and solicitors with the appropriate qualifications.
Regional A Panel
Members of this Panel deal with the most complex Government cases in all kinds of courts and tribunals. Those previously appointed to the A Panel have generally had in excess of 10 years advocacy experience in actual practice (from end of 2nd six months’ pupillage for barristers, date of commencement of advocacy for solicitors).
Regional B Panel
Members of this Panel deal with substantial cases but not in general as complex as those handled by the A Panel. They will generally be instructed where knowledge and experience of a particular field is required. Those previously appointed to the B Panel have generally had between 5 and 10 years advocacy experience in actual practice (from end of 2nd six months’ pupillage for barristers, date of commencement of advocacy for solicitors).
Regional C Panel
Members of this Panel will be expected to have at least two years’ experience in actual practice (from end of 2nd six months’ pupillage for barristers, date of commencement of advocacy for solicitors). Those appointed to the C Panel will often (but not exclusively) provide the A and B Panel members of the future and so should have the potential to join the A Panel.
In choosing which of the panels to apply to, candidates will want to make a careful decision based on which best suits their level of expertise and experience.
Appointments will be for 5 years.
As is the case every year, the Attorney General is looking for applicants with experience in general public and administrative law; employment; or personal injury. For the 2020 exercise, the Attorney is also looking to deepen the capacity of the panels by appointing specialists in the following areas:
- Admiralty
- Agriculture
- Competition and State Aid
- Construction
- Contract/Commercial
- Corporate
- Costs
- Education, including teacher regulation proceedings
- General Tax Work – Direct and Indirect, Personal and Business
- Human Rights
- Industrial Relations
- Information Law and Data Protection
- Inquests
- Insolvency
- Land and Planning/Environmental
- Mental Health/Mental Health Capacity Act 2005
- Pensions
- Procurement
- Property
- Rating and Valuation
- Social Security
- VAT and Duties
The Attorney General is also looking to appoint applicants capable of advising departments on the interface of public and commercial law issues, and also where criminal or regulatory issues arise in public law cases.
Public International Law and Trade specialists are also eligible to apply for appointment to the Public International Law (PIL) Panel, and there is no bar to being a member of both panels.
Application
To obtain details about the application process, we recommend reading our document and the sheet.
To make an application, please email panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk and register an interest in applying. Please note that registering an interest does not commit you to making an application if you later decide not to do so.
Once you have registered, you will be provided with a link to access our online portal to obtain the full application pack.
Completed applications must be submitted by noon on Friday 30 October 2020.
We will be hosting two virtual sessions for interested candidates to find out more about the application process and panel work, the first of these is on 6 October for candidates in the North and North East regions and on 12 October for candidates in the Midlands, South West and Wales regions. Both session will be by Zoom between 17.00 and 18.30. To reserve a place, please contact panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk stating which session you would like to attend.
Further information and mentoring
If you have any queries, please feel free to raise them in the first instance with the Government Legal Department Panel Counsel Secretariat via email panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk or on 020 7210 1506.
We wish to encourage applications from as wide a range as possible of those eligible to apply. We will therefore endeavour to put advocates who are considering applying and who want to discuss the application process in touch with an established Panel member. The mentor will discuss either by telephone or in a meeting the application process, the eligibility criteria and the presentation of relevant information on the application form.
If you are considering applying and want a mentor please contact the Panel Counsel Secretariat via email: panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk on or before Friday 9 October 2020.
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