Salary: Starting salary around £34,695. Salaries differ according to department and location
Starting September 2028
Location: Bristol, Manchester, London, Leeds
The Government Legal Profession (GLP) Legal Trainee Scheme offers you the chance to start your legal career with a legal trainee position (training contract/qualifying work experience) in the Government Legal Department (GLD), GLD Commercial, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Whether the government is creating new laws, buying goods and services, setting the annual budget and collecting the right amount of tax, employing people, or defending its decisions in court, it needs significant levels of legal advice on a whole range of complex issues.
The Trainee Solicitor positions are based in Bristol, Manchester, London and Leeds. Please note that offers will be made in merit order. The training period will be for 2 years in duration. No account will be taken of training completed elsewhere.
Whether joining GLD, HMRC, CMA or NCA, you can expect to be fully involved in a range of interesting legal work and receive high quality training in a supportive and inclusive working environment. You will have the opportunity to build a rewarding career, working on some of the biggest legal issues of the day. The work is cutting edge, public‑serving, and often headline news. If that wasn’t enough, you may have the opportunity to make the law, not just interpret it.
Work and on‑the‑job training depends upon the department in which you are placed.
What do you need?
As you’d expect, there are some must haves. Full details can be found on our website, the minimum being that you must meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements and have obtained, or be predicted to obtain, a minimum of a 2:2 (Hons) in a qualifying law degree or undergraduate degree in a non‑law subject; or hold equivalent qualifications (e.g. CILEx) as recognised by the professional bodies.
You’ll need to have successfully completed the Graduate Diploma in Law/CPE (law conversion which covers the foundation topics in law where a degree is held in a non‑law subject); and the Legal Practice Course or Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam before the start of the role. Please note that should you be successful you will be expected to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks as a minimum, some departments will require higher levels of National security vetting.
We recommend that you take some time navigating our careers site; we want you to be as prepared as possible for your application journey. You’ll also find more information regarding our eligibility criteria, selection process, sponsorship arrangements and where your career path can take you. Please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-legal-profession
The application process opens at 11:00 on 14 April 2026. The deadline for the online application form to be submitted is Tuesday 28 April at 12:00 (Midday) and the deadline for the Situational Judgement Test to be fully submitted is Tuesday 28 April at 15:00.
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