Ministry of Justice

The role of the legal adviser is vital to the smooth running of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and is a highly rewarding position within our organisation. If you have a passion for law, being a part of a team committed to providing a quality service and want to take your career in a new direction, this could be the right role for you.

You’re an excellent communicator with the ability to inspire confidence in everyone you work with and the self-assurance to speak in court.  You’ll need to be a qualified solicitor, barrister or fellow of CILEX, enthusiastic about the responsibility that comes with being on the front line of the justice system and you're now ready to develop your career further and make a positive difference to society and the communities we live in.

Our work at HMCTS is vitally important to the smooth running of a fair, accessible and efficient justice system, as we are responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. We’re looking for legal advisers to join our exceptional legal team in Wales to provide magistrates with advice on points of law, practice and procedure, and assist with the formulation and drafting of the reasons behind their judgments. You’ll also be required to exercise a range of authorised judicial functions. Not only will this draw on your sound legal skills, but you’ll need to demonstrate judicial independence, integrity and impartiality at all times.

Important:

It is essential in understanding the unique nature of this role that prospective applicants visit a Magistrates’ Court to observe court proceedings before the interview stage of the process- if successful in reaching that stage.  Candidates are encouraged to plan ahead because the time period between confirmation and date of interview may be limited and interviews may not proceed if an observation has not been made. The observation provides valuable insight into the duties of a Trainee Legal Adviser and offers a practical understanding of the courtroom environment, as well as the various roles and responsibilities involved. Those who have undertaken this experience often report increased confidence and motivation to excel in the role.

Your role

 When you join us as a legal adviser, you’ll quickly discover that this isn’t your normal 9 to 5 role, as no two days are the same. You’ll work at pace in a fast-moving, fluid environment, and help to keep the courts running smoothly and efficiently. Working on everything from minor motoring offences to serious crimes, or in family on parents disputes about their children or whether a child should be removed from their family by the state. 

Your training will include enrolment on a 12 to 18 month national induction programme where you will acquire knowledge of law, practice and procedure and the court skills required to be a legal adviser.  You will be supported by a mentor, manager and your colleagues.  You will collect evidence throughout your training to support your promotion to a qualified Legal Adviser.  Once you have completed your training, there is a wide range of career opportunities either within HMCTS, or your training will provide you with the knowledge and experience relevant for you to apply for judicial roles.

Qualifications

To be eligible for entry to this post, candidates must be fully qualified to practice as a Solicitor or Barrister in England & Wales or hold the Qualifying Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) or be a Fellow of CILEX/CILEX Lawyer, including the completion of the relevant prescribed period of professional experience (e.g. training contract or pupillage).

Work as the qualified, professional face of the courts

Rather than acting for a client you’ll be providing legal advice to magistrates and progressing cases to ensure they are dealt with justly, fairly and expeditiously.  

If you work in the crime jurisdiction your role will be to advise magistrates on law practice, procedure and accurately record court decisions on the court system.  With experience, you will be given authority to manage cases both in and outside the courtroom.

You will be committed to providing a quality justice service to people in Wales.

You’ll act as the professional face of the court, so we’ll expect you to work with integrity, empathy and understanding, and ensure that everyone who attends is treated with humanity and respect. 

Apply all your skills as you increase your knowledge of the law

In addition to being legally qualified and having excellent communication skills, you’ll be committed to developing and practising your knowledge and skills in the jurisdiction to which you have been assigned. Open, approachable, professional and supportive, we’ll expect you to have excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think on your feet in a busy court. Important decisions will be made, these can have a profound effect on the people who come to court, so you’ll be confident, impartial and capable of considering a wide range of risks and implications. Flexible and adaptable and with a high degree of personal responsibility, there are times when you’ll be faced with challenging situations. You’ll be resilient and remain calm under pressure and have a diplomatic and tactful approach to everyone you work with.

This is an office based/court based frontline role. You’ll be allocated to your work base location that has been agreed between yourself and line manager as part of the recruitment process.

All our employees have to be security cleared before being appointed so you’ll undergo a vetting process if your application is successful.

Enjoy a healthy work/life balance with our range of benefits

When you join us, you’ll be making an important contribution to HM Courts and Tribunals Service – but how will we help you in return?

In addition to a competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement and a Civil Service pension, we’ll support your development with training opportunities to help you advance your career with us. We also understand the importance of a healthy work/life balance and with this in mind we offer flexible working schemes, paid maternity and paternity leave and excellent childcare benefits.

The vital work we do takes an incredible community of colleagues with different skills, backgrounds, cultures and identities. We support every individual, so you’ll always know you’re welcome and valued. We have strong and proactive staff networks and can make reasonable adjustments for those who need them.

If this sounds like you, use our online application form to apply for the role of the legal adviser. If you have any queries about the role, then please contact: HQlegal@justice.gov.uk 

Your contracted hours are 37 hours excluding lunch breaks. You will be required to work those hours over five days, including Saturdays and Public Holidays and due to the nature of this post you may be required to work additional hours to enable the courts to perform their statutory tasks and duties.

Interview Schedule Notice
Interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 16^th March. Please note that rescheduling will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, and any rearrangements must still occur within the interview period.

Base Location and Reserve list information

We have 4 hires and the successful candidate can be based at Haverfordwest, Aberystwyth, Mold, Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil or Newport. We will be making up to one offer per location.

If you are only prepared to work in one location, please state only one preference.  It is important to note that whilst you may select up to three preferences, please only indicate locations where you are prepared to travel to and work from every day. If you are offered a role in one of your stated location preferences (for example, your 2nd or 3rd choice), you will not be able to decline this and remain on the merit list for a higher preference. Or if you are offered a role in any one of your stated preferences and decline it, you will be removed from the reserve list for all your preferences.

We will be allocating roles and base locations using your selected preference location/s. We will appoint in merit list order for each location outlined in the vacancy.

After appointments have been made using this locational appointment process, any remaining candidates who met the benchmark for the role will be placed on a reserve list, based on your selected preferences. This will be for a period of 12 months in the event of a similar opportunity arising in one of these locations.

Explore More

Visit our microsite:

hmctsjobs.co.uk/legal-operations

Watch our You Tube video:
Inside the Criminal Courts - Legal Team Manager Nuwan - Hear directly from our legal advisers about what the role involves and why it matters.

Visa Sponsorship. 

We may be able to offer visa sponsorship for eligible roles to applicants who meet the Home Office requirements for a Skilled Worker visa.

From 22 July 2025, the minimum salary for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is £41,700 per year, or the going rate for the role if higher.
For those eligible under the New Entrant route, the minimum salary is £33,400 per year or 70% of the going rate, whichever is higher.

External candidates join the MoJ at the band minima, currently:

·         National: £42,914

Existing Civil Servants transferring into the MoJ will have their pay set in line with the MoJ Pay and Reward Policy.

For more info please see Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK