About us
We are the government’s principal legal advisers. Our core purpose is to help the government to govern well, within the rule of law.
We do this by providing legal advice on the development, design and implementation of government policies and decisions, drafting secondary legislation and working with Parliamentary Counsel on primary legislation, and representing the government in court.
We are a non ministerial government department.
Our Purpose and Vision
We help the government to govern well, within the rule of law.
Our vision is to be:
- an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism
- a brilliant place to work, where we can all thrive and fulfil our potential
Who we are
We have more than 3,000 employees, around 2,500 of whom are solicitors or barristers.
We provide a legal service to the majority of central government departments, including:
- Cabinet Office
- Department for Business and Trade
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Department for Education
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- Department for Transport
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Home Office
- HM Treasury
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Justice
Parliamentary and advisory work
Governments draw continuously upon the skills of their lawyers as they bring to life the policies pledged in their election manifestos. GLD lawyers are called upon to advise whether a policy can be implemented under existing legislation and, if so, how.
If new, primary legislation is required, GLD lawyers play a key role in helping to prepare the bill and taking it through Parliament. Where this is the case, GLD lawyers can expect to work closely with officials, ministers and Parliamentary counsel. They brief ministers and support them in Parliamentary debates.
GLD lawyers also draft secondary legislation much of which will impact upon the community as a whole. A proportion of this drafting is done by a specialist team of drafters who work closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.
In addition, our lawyers need to ensure that all the legal implications of a policy have been thought through. It is also their job to ensure that the legislation they produce will withstand the scrutiny of both the courts and Parliament.
The role of GLD lawyers in the development and implementation of new legislation is intellectually demanding and unique.
Litigation
The Litigation Group provides litigation services to the majority of government departments and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies, and its work often raises questions of constitutional importance.
The Group’s work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries. Lawyers attend hearings in a wide range of courts, including Coroners’ Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court.
GLD is Lexcel accredited, this is a legal quality mark awarded by the Law Society.
Commercial
The GLD has a specialist Commercial Law Group of around 120 commercial law specialists. As the government seeks to reduce the levels of public spending, the work of its commercial lawyers has never been more important.
Whether they are undertaking large-scale complex public procurement or day-to-day transactional commercial matters, it is essential that government departments obtain value from all their contracts. To enable them to do so, commercial lawyers in GLD provide legal advice on a wide range of matters, including public procurement law, contract law, intellectual property and state aid.
Commercial lawyers work closely with their clients (the procurement officers, contract managers, commercial directors and other in-house lawyers) to help them develop sound policies, devise robust commercial and procurement strategies and to construct resilient contractual arrangements with suppliers.
Employment
GLD’s Employment Group, which embraces both advisory and litigation work, is now one of the largest employment law practices in the country.
GLD’s employment lawyers act for departments of state and various public bodies in cases brought before the Employment Tribunal, the County Court, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and beyond.
Employment lawyers also advise on non-contentious matters, such as employment policies and practices and compliance with new legislation and they seek to provide their clients with training and information to help prevent employment problems in the future.
Bona vacantia
The Latin term ‘bona vacantia’ means vacant goods and is the name given to ownerless property, which by law passes to the Crown. The Treasury Solicitor acts for the Crown to administer the estates of people who die intestate (without a valid will) and without known kin and collects the assets of dissolved companies and other various ownerless goods in England and Wales.
GLD deals with this through its Bona Vacantia Division.
Diversity and Inclusion
We have ambitious diversity and inclusion objectives that focus on our people and contribute to achieving the GLD Vision. We have 12 staff-led passionate and engaged diversity networks and 11 Director level Diversity Champions who each lead on a particular aspect or characteristic, overseen by the overall Senior Diversity Champion, who sits at Director General level.
We are proud to have been recognised as an inclusive and accessible employer by the Social Mobility Index and as a Disability Confident Leader since 2017 by the Business Disability Forum.
Health and Wellbeing
Taking a positive, preventative approach to wellbeing is a strategic priority for the Civil Service and for us here at GLD. We are committed to supporting and empowering our people to prioritise their health and wellbeing.
We have a diverse pool of trained Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and all employees have access to the Employee Assistance Programme, a free, confidential and expert support service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Corporate information
Access our information
Jobs and contracts
Read about the types of information we routinely publish in our Publication scheme. Our Personal information charter explains how we treat your personal information.