Working for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel: Andrew Wright
Updated 7 July 2023
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I joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 2019 after relatively short stints as a judicial assistant, at a US law firm and as a government lawyer. I came across the Office in that last role, while instructing on a bill – I was impressed by the skill of the drafters I was working with and enjoyed the complexity and conceptual nature of bill work.
Drafters at the Office specialise in drafting, rather than in any one area of law. The subject matter of your work as a drafter is ever-changing. So far, I have worked on bills in relation to withdrawal from and the future relationship with the EU, investigatory powers, telecommunications, dormant assets, trade and energy (among other areas). The topics of my next bills will most likely be entirely different.
The skill of a drafter is quickly getting to grips with an area of law and working out what needs to be done to give effect to the policy. That may involve making changes to the existing structure, or perhaps building a new one within, on top or beside it. Connecting the legislative plumbing and wiring of what has been newly built into what is already there is all part of the challenge.
All of this needs to be done in a clear and coherent way. Attempting to do so can throw up inconsistencies within a policy and in how it fits with the wider policy landscape. Producing a draft also has the potential to reveal legal problems and policy questions a bill needs to say something about in order to give effect to its broader aim. Drafts develop iteratively and more and more of these issues are teased out with each iteration. This involvement in policy development is an important and rewarding part of a drafter’s work.
The Office places great emphasis on the training and development of junior drafters. In my first few years in the Office, I worked closely with senior drafters on bills. I learnt the craft by senior drafters carefully reviewing my drafts and discussing them with me. Equally important in a junior drafter’s development, I was expected to pull apart senior colleagues’ drafts and to suggest improvements.
As time has gone on, I have been given more responsibility, leading my own bills or parts of larger bills. The Office is good at managing the transition – I have felt supported by my colleagues and discussing drafts with them remains a central and enjoyable part of the job, through which I continue to develop as a drafter. The Office also regards being a trusted partner of our clients as important and, in that regard, I find building collaborative relationships with the Departmental lawyers and policy officials who instruct me to be a fulfilling aspect of my work.
I’ve heard the core of the job, drafting, being described as Marmite-y and I would agree. There is no getting away from the fact that drafting is hard and requires deep concentration. The job is however immense amounts of fun, unique and by definition at the cutting edge of the law. If you enjoy thinking conceptually, have an eye for detail and want a legal job the essence of which is creative, a career as a drafter might be for you.