Apply to the Attorney General’s Civil Panel Counsel London 2024
The competition to refresh the London A, B and C panels is now open
Lady Justice
The Attorney General is seeking to appoint new members to three civil panels of junior counsel, the London A, B and C panels, to undertake civil work for government departments.
Membership of the London panels is open to both barristers and solicitors with the appropriate qualifications.
Applications must be submitted by noon on Thursday 4 April 2024.
London A Panel
Members of this panel deal with the most complex government cases, often appearing against KCs. Those previously appointed to the A panel have generally had in excess of 10 years’ advocacy experience in actual practice.
London B Panel
Members of this panel deal with substantial cases but not in general as complex as those handled by the A panel. They will generally be instructed where knowledge and experience of a particular field is required. Those previously appointed to the B panel have generally had between 5 and 10 years’ advocacy experience in actual practice.
London C Panel
Members of this panel will be expected to have at least two years’ experience in actual practice.
In choosing which of the panels to apply to, candidates will want to make a careful decision based on which best suits their level of expertise and experience.
Appointments will be for five years.
Applications are invited from candidates with experience in general public and administrative law, employment or personal injury. The below specialisms are encouraged to apply:
- Aviation, Maritime/Shipping, Highways
- Charity/Trusts
- Clinical negligence
- Construction
- Contracts, Partnerships and Commercial Law in general (including private international law aspects)
- Costs (including routine and/or mass group litigation experience)
- Customs control – customs duties and other customs matters
- Cyber, AI
- Data Protection and Freedom of Information
- Defamation
- Education, including Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
- Energy/Utilities
- Environmental and Regulatory Law
- Equality and Discrimination
- Extradition
- Family and Public Children’s Law
- General Tax Work – Direct and Indirect, Personal and Business
- Health and social care including medicines ethics and mental health
- Industrial Diseases
- Inquests
- Insolvency
- Intellectual Property
- Land and Planning (including Environmental Impact expertise)
- Maritime Law
- Pensions
- Proceeds of Crime
- Procurement
- Professional Regulation
- Property (including Landlord and Tenant)
- Public Law
- Rating and Valuation
- Restitution
- Sanctions
- Social Security, including free movement, social justice and statutory payments
- Tax Work – Direct and Indirect, Personal and Business
- Trade including Competition, State Aid and subsidies, international arbitration, and shipping
- VAT and Duties including VAT fraud
The Attorney General is also looking to appoint applicants capable of advising departments on the interface of public and commercial law issues, and where criminal or regulatory issues arise in public law cases.
Public International Law and Trade specialists are also eligible to apply for appointment to the Public International Law (PIL) panel, and there is no bar to being a member of both panels.
Application
More information can be found in the and the .
To make an application, please email panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk and register an interest in applying.
Once you have registered, you will be provided with a link to access our online portal to obtain the full application pack.
Completed applications must be submitted by noon on Thursday 4 April 2024.
These helpful videos explain the process for reference selection:
General References https://youtu.be/J6J_Lvmkc4c
Judicial References https://youtu.be/arH9ZfSi2jo
Other than judicial references https://youtu.be/70_YLqnqxvs
Further information and our mentoring scheme
If you have any queries, please feel free to raise them in the first instance with the Government Legal Department Panel Counsel Secretariat via email panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk
To help candidates find out more about civil panel counsel,some of our current panel members have shared their experience of being on panel: Attorney General’s Civil Panel Counsel London open for competition
We wish to encourage applications from as wide a range as possible of those eligible to apply. We will therefore endeavour to put advocates who are considering applying, and who want to discuss the application process, in touch with an established panel member. The mentor will discuss the application process, eligibility criteria and the presentation of relevant information on the application form.
If you are considering applying and want a mentor please contact the Panel Counsel Secretariat via email: panelcounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk on or before Friday 15 March 2024.