Energy Lawyer ESNZ Legal Advisers

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

From energy to security, health to human rights, we help the Government deliver life changing law for citizens.

The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters that are frequently scrutinised in Parliament and the media. Our work includes:

• Developing and drafting legislation
• Providing legal advice on policies
• Securing our economic and trade relationships
• Ensuring value from commercial contracts worth billions of pounds
• Providing the Civil Service’s employment law advice

We are at the heart of delivering the Government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department, sponsored by the Attorney General. We are headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary and employ nearly 3000 people, including over 2000 legal professionals. Our offices include London, Leeds, Bristol, Croydon and Manchester as well as overseas. We provide specialist legal services including Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law as well as advising most Government Departments on the policies and services they deliver.

GLD also depends on a range of vital corporate services. These are essential to the smooth and efficient running of the Department and provide the foundation to enable GLD to deliver outstanding legal services. Our corporate functions include Strategy, HR, Finance, Digital, Data and Technology, Communications, Security, Commercial and Project delivery. 

Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service. 

To find out more about what we do visit the Government Legal Department’s webpage or have a look at this short film which showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.

Job description

ESNZ Legal is a GLD Advisory Directorate with around 110 people and is based predominantly in 3-8 Whitehall Place, London. ESNZ Legal is led by Wendy Hardaker (Legal Director) and comprises seven Deputy Director led client-facing teams. Please see our organogram for more information on the team structure.

We advise the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), together with a number of its Partner Organisations. We are focused on providing legal advice on the UK’s ambitious and innovative energy portfolio, with work spanning policies on decarbonisation technologies, nuclear power, clean energy and heat, energy efficiency, combatting fuel poverty, energy security, energy networks, infrastructure, planning, international energy commitments, climate change and net zero obligations. With DESNZ leading on one of the government’s five missions to “make Britain a clean energy superpower ” our work is more in the spotlight than ever before. In record time we have brought forward the Great British Energy Bill, published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and are pursuing an ambitious programme of primary legislation.

The work of ESNZ Legal is fast-paced, extremely varied and always stretching and interesting. The Directorate’s work involves a highly diverse range of activity, including:

1.providing legal advice, particularly public law advice, to Ministers and officials across the relevant portfolio;

2.preparing ESNZ bills by working closely with policy leads and instructing Parliamentary Counsel, as well as advising Ministers throughout a Bill’s passage through Parliament;

3.drafting secondary legislation;

4.operational delivery work on large scale, high value schemes programmes and projects; and

5.advising on all aspects of legal risk, including working alongside litigation colleagues on litigation faced by DESNZ.

We are a friendly, high performing and collegiate Directorate. In 2023 we won the “GLD Professionalise” Team award for cross GLD collaboration, the Lawyer Award for Competition and Regulatory Team of the Year and a British Legal Award for outstanding collaboration. In 2024 we’ve contributed to GLD’s strategic ambitions by expanding our National GLD presence in the Bristol, Leeds and Salford offices and encouraged rewarding careers for all by boosting and developing our Early Talent recruitment.

Career Offer

While previous experience or knowledge may be relevant to some vacancies, Government work is likely to involve a rapid learning curve to acquire legal skills and knowledge not required in private practice. Strong intellectual and analytical skills are important. We will provide support to help you acquire the necessary expertise and have a thriving CPD-accredited in-house training programme.

GLD encourages its people to develop their skills and provides opportunities to move between advisory, litigation, employment and commercial law services during their careers.

For Newly Qualified lawyers with under one year’s experience, GLD operates a ‘2+2’ scheme, whereby these lawyers are allocated to two, 2 year postings over their first 4 years working with GLD; 2 years in a contentious team (litigation or employment), and a further 2 years in a non-contentious advisory post, or vice-versa.

The scheme is voluntary and is intended to help Newly Qualified lawyers to develop a broader range of skills and stay ‘fresh’ in working on different areas of law and in new environments.

The Role

As an advisory lawyer in Government you may be responsible for:

• Providing legal advice and public law advice to ministers and officials across the relevant portfolio;
• Ensuring that the legal implications of a policy has been thought through, including involvement in legislation, working closely with policy leads and Parliamentary Counsel, as well as advising Ministers throughout a Bill’s passage through Parliament;
• Drafting secondary legislation;
• Providing advisory support in legal challenges;
• Providing litigation support in legal challenges pertaining to judicial review challenges against decisions (in respect of planning, infrastructure projects and the related regulatory regimes);
• Casework, advising the Secretary of State on planning decisions and on judicial reviews and statutory challenges;
• Producing timely and fit for purpose, risk based legal advice;
• Responding in a creative manner to real world events; and
• Supporting the Government in being accountable for its role. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Technical (Lead Criteria)

Legal Professional Skills:

• Good knowledge, understanding and experience of public law. 
• Reliable legal judgement and appreciation of legal risk. 
• The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly. 
• Sound analysis, using secure legal research to produce timely and fit for purpose advice. 
• The ability to communicate advice effectively both in writing and orally. 
• Good understanding of the role of lawyers in government.

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role. Demonstrating all the behaviours listed below is essential.

You will be expected to provide evidence to show how you meet the criteria at interview and/or selection stage.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Experience (Essential)

Public law experience. This could be gained in a private practice context, through academic study or in the legal department of a public body.

Desirable

• Energy law experience. This could be gained in a private practice context, through academic study or in the legal department of a public body.

Motivational Fit (Essential) 

• We need to know how well our requirements and offerings match your aspirations. Please outline why you are motivated to join the Government Legal Department and how you feel you might contribute effectively to a role with the GLD. 

For further information about Civil Service recruitment processes and Success profiles, please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles 

Qualifications

Applicants should have a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in their first degree (in any subject). Where an applicant holds an overseas degree qualification this should be equivalent to a 2.1 degree. GLD will consider applicants who do not have a 2.1 degree but only where satisfactory evidence of equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement can be provided (e.g. via relevant experience and results achieved for the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE, Legal Practice Course (LPC), Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)).

Applicants must be qualified to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales however, we also accept applications from overseas qualified candidates. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx.

Please note that candidates cannot apply more than 3 months before their qualification date.

Professional entry criteria for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e. Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6*, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in law:

Contract Law

Criminal Law

Equity and Trusts Law

European Union Law

Land Law

Public Law

Law of Tort

• Note: There are specific requirements relating to academic achievement in the CILEx Level 6 exams where these are being used to demonstrate 2.1 degree equivalence as set out below.

Chartered Legal Executives should note that GLD will be willing to accept an, overall, average score of 65% or above across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6) as demonstrating 2.1 degree equivalence (where a 2.1 degree is not held).

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Legal Professional Skills:

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,200, Government Legal Department contributes £17,150 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Rakes Parmar
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact [email protected] in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil

Read Full Description