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 fully qualified to practice as a 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 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.

Your role

As a Legal Adviser (Qualified Entrant) you will:

• Provide clear, impartial legal advice to magistrates and (where relevant) District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts), ensuring hearings are legally robust and fair.
• Support efficient case progression by applying authorised legal functions in line with the Criminal or Family Procedure Rules.
• Work with colleagues across National Legal Operations to deliver high quality court outcomes and a consistent service to court users.

Training and development

We recognise that qualified entrants join with different levels of experience. Successful candidates will receive a personalised training plan reflecting their current knowledge and experience, supported by a mentor throughout.

All Legal Advisers will be required to complete Judicial College training appropriate to their jurisdiction. This typically includes an induction programme followed by structured workplace learning and completion of core modules and learning activities.

Candidates are required to demonstrate substantial relevant experience as a minimum requirement, those having close to the minimum experience required should expect to complete the full 12‑month Judicial College Legal Adviser training programme, building the knowledge and skills needed to advise across the relevant court types in your jurisdiction and to exercise authorised functions confidently and consistently.

Career progression

On successful completion of training, Legal Adviser Qualified Entrants (also referred to as Legal Advisers in Training) progress to Tier 1 Legal Adviser (with the associated increase in pay). A further development programme supports progression to Tier 2, where Legal Advisers are expected to demonstrate high levels of legal professionalism, manage more complex work, and contribute beyond the courtroom (e.g., mentoring, training, leadership, service improvement).

The role also offers valuable experience relevant to wider opportunities across National Legal Operations (including management, training and project delivery) and can provide experience relevant to judicial appointment.

Eligibility

To be eligible for entry to this post, candidates must be fully qualified to practise in England and Wales as a solicitor, barrister or Fellow of CILEx, and have substantial practical experience in the criminal or family jurisdiction, with up-to-date knowledge of relevant law, practice and procedure. Practical experience may have been gained during a training contract, qualifying work experience or pupillage, and/or after full professional qualification.

The job holder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English.

Important Information

This campaign is for fully legally qualified and experienced entrants to the Legal Adviser role.  You will need to have successfully completed pupillage, be admitted as a solicitor or be a Fellow of CILEx to apply for this role.  If you are fully qualified but do not have the necessary jurisdictional experience, you may be able to apply for our general trainee role later this year.  This means applicants should consider carefully which route best reflects their current professional experience. 

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 or Family 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’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 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.

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.

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 

Application process

Statement of Suitability – 750 words

Please submit a statement of suitability (maximum 750 words) explaining how your skills, substantial practical experience, and personal qualities make you a strong candidate for this role. Your statement should highlight transferable skills and demonstrate your knowledge and experience.

 CV in the following format:

• Include your Legal and professional qualifications and status, highlighting any relevant modules or accreditations.
• Only include roles / practical experience history that is relevant to this role. Do not include a full employment history.
• Provide dates for practical experience / roles.
• No additional info is required in your CV

Interview Schedule Notice

Interviews are scheduled to take place in July 2026. Please note that rescheduling will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, and any rearrangements must still occur within the interview period.

We have 70 positions available

London (dual-site in brackets):

18 Crime roles (2 at each site) Westminster (City of London), Thames (Stratford), Highbury Corner, Barkingside (Romford), Willesden (Hendon), Croydon, Bromley (Bexley), Wimbledon (Lavender Hill), Uxbridge (Ealing)

5 Family roles Central Family Court, East London, Croydon, West London, Barnet (1 at each site)

Midlands

4 Crime roles Birmingham (3), North Staffordshire Justice Centre, Newcastle-Under-Lyme (1)

South West

10 Crime roles Exeter (1), Plymouth (1), Bodmin (1), Portsmouth (1), Newport Isle of Wight (1), Basingstoke (1), Swindon (2), Salisbury (1) Southampton (1)

7 Family roles Swindon (2), Southampton (2), Taunton (1), Gloucester (1), Cornwall – Bodmin or Truro (1)

South East

11 Crime roles Luton (1); St Albans or Stevenage (1); Basildon or Colchester (1); Medway (2); Margate or Folkestone (1); Norwich (1); Guildford (2); Reading (1); High Wycombe (1); Oxford (1)

3 Family roles Milton Keynes, Ipswich, Colchester (1 at each site)

North West

4 Crime roles Carlisle (1), Manchester Magistrates (2), Preston (1)

8 Family roles: 2 for Cumbria / Lancashire (Carlisle and Preston). 3 for Cheshire Merseyside (Liverpool / Chester) 3 for Greater Manchester (Manchester Civil Justice Centre)

Dual-Site Working

These positions involve dual-site working. A base location will be assigned; however, post-holders should expect to travel between designated court sites in line with operational requirements. In many areas legal teams work across a number of courthouses and a reasonable amount of travel can be expected.

If you have a question about locations, dual-site working and travel requirements please contact the Vacancy Holder by email to hqlegal@justice.gov.uk during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role.

Base Location and Reserve list information

It is important to note that whilst you may select up to three preferences, you should 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.

Further Information – Webinars

We will be holding Microsoft Teams Webinars on the following dates and times:

Register to attend:

Monday 8th June 2026 @ 10am - 8 June 2026 - 10am - Legal Adviser qualified entrant ( LAQE ) webinar

Monday 15th June 2026 @ 10am - 15 June 2026 - 10am - Legal Adviser qualified entrant (LAQE) webinar 

What’s in store:

• A short presentation from our legal team explaining the pilot
• A live Q&A session where you can submit questions via chat
• Cameras and microphones will be off for attendees.

Why register?

• It helps us plan the session and tailor it to your interests
• It provides you with the opportunity to ask questions about the campaign, including, Eligibility criteria, Nature of the role and application process
• You’ll receive a confirmation email with the joining link and reminders

We look forward to welcoming you and sharing more about this exciting opportunity.

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.

As of 31st March 2026, 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. This is subject to change please check for current minimum salary route (include link)

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