Kelby Harmes
Biography
Kelby Harmes is Legal Director for the Ministry of Justice and a member of the senior leadership of the Government Legal Department.
Before taking up that role, Kelby served as Director and Deputy Head of the Attorney General’s Office for 5 years. Prior positions include Deputy Director at the AGO in charge of its Domestic Law Team and roles in Cabinet Office Legal Advisers (including as interim head of the Constitutional Law Team) and in DCMS Legal Advisers, where he worked for seven years on the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Following the Games, Kelby was, for 3 years, Chief Adviser to the Deputy Secretary for Justice (Policy) in the New Zealand Ministry of Justice, where he also led the Ministry’s Criminal Law team.
Kelby started his career in New Zealand where he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor and worked in various legal roles in the public and private sectors before relocating to the UK in 2003. He was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2004 and, after working as a legal adviser in the predecessor department to the Ministry of Justice, was appointed the Private Secretary to the Lord Chief Justice in 2005.
Legal Director
The Legal Director leads a team of 65-70 lawyers who support the Lord Chancellor, other MoJ Ministers and the wider Department across the full range of their functions and responsibilities.