Public Law Litigator (Upholding Democracy)

The deadline to apply for this position has now closed. We are currently reviewing applications and will be in touch with successful candidates regarding the next stage. We received a large number of applications for this position and so, unfortunately, will not be able to reply to individuals who have been unsuccessful.

At Good Law Project we are not for or against Government. But we are for good governance. Join us to use litigation strategically to hold those with power to account and to protect and uphold our democracy.

About Good Law Project

Good Law Project’s mission is to achieve change through the law. We defend, define and change the law to protect the environment, uphold democracy and ensure no one is left behind. We hold government and others to account through challenges in the courts, or through campaigning for positive change. We are a small and young organisation, but we have been expanding quickly, with increasingly prominent and successful legal cases: we had a primary role in overturning the prorogation of Parliament 18 months ago and have more recently been
shining a bright light on the government’s award of PPE contracts and jobs to their friends and associates. We raise funds directly from the public for our work in the public interest, and operate on a not for profit basis. We are brave, honest and decisive – those are Good Law Project’s values.

We are looking for a public law litigator to join our outstanding legal team to further develop our work, principally in our “upholding democracy” workstream. We are committed to holding government and other powerful actors to account in the public interest, promoting transparency, the upholding of our democratic institutions, due process and the rule of law.

You can read the full job description and person specification here.

The purpose of the role is to identify and manage casework within Good Law Project’s litigation portfolio, with a particular focus on the “upholding democracy” workstream. 

You will report to our Legal Director and will have some paralegal and administrative support. You can see how the role fits into the current GLP team at the end of this application information.

The role requires a qualified barrister or solicitor, who has considerable experience of running their own litigation, most likely through a more senior role in private practice, and who has minimal need for supervision on day-to-day casework.

Salary: £60,000 per annum with generous benefits

Hours: 35 hours per week, over 5 days

Contract type: permanent, after completion of 3 months’ probation

Location: Remote currently due to COVID-19; ultimately working in central London with some flexibility.

Essential experience and attributes

The successful candidate will:
• Have a proven track record as a public law litigator in complex litigation
• Have demonstrable case experience in relation to issues of transparency, public good, political and governmental accountability, use of public money and public sector equality duty
• Have a track-record of managing own caseload largely unsupervised, including instructing counsel
• Support GLP’s values and demonstrate commitment to its areas of work
• Have knowledge in one or more of the following areas of law:
– public procurement
– public appointments
– constitutional and administrative law e.g. Henry VIII powers, secondary legislation
– law of the EU / emerging law of the future relationship
– freedom of information
– electoral law and political funding
– devolution in the UK 

To apply, please send us one 3-page document consisting of your CV (max one page) with a covering letter of no more than two pages outlining why you are interested in the role, and how you meet the requirements, together with the details of two referees to jobs@goodlawproject.org, with the subject line “Public law litigator (upholding democracy)”.

Deadline for applications: 11:30pm, 29 March 2021

We intend to hold interviews via Zoom between 12 and 14 April, with specific dates/times to be confirmed.

We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability (physical or learning), LGBT or relationship status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex or social class. We particularly welcome applications from BAME candidates and/or those with lived experience of disadvantage.