Working for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel: Jenny Munday
Updated 7 July 2023
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Before joining the office I had spent over ten years working as a government lawyer after moving from the City to follow my passion for public law. I was happy and settled in my role, but I still had a hankering for a new challenge. I had worked with Parliamentary Counsel on a number of bills and was inspired by their professionalism, creativity and attention to detail. I was attracted by the intellectual challenge of drafting and the unique opportunity the post presented to work at the heart of the legislative process.
I joined in March 2017 and the move has been a really positive one for me. The work offers the chance to grapple with many different areas of the law - I have so far worked on bills relating to financial services, mental capacity, divorce, building safety, local government and more. The drafting and legal analysis is brought to life by working alongside bill teams to deliver government policy. Parliamentary Counsel are responsible for translating agreed policy into law. Developing a draft is an iterative process which involves rigorously testing the policy and drafting to deliver a robust end product. This ensures that your drafting skills are developed in the context of endlessly varied legal, political and strategic issues.
It is true that you have to be resilient to develop as a drafter. You can only really learn by being willing to have a go, and you need to be prepared to revisit your work with an open mind. However, it is a real privilege to learn a new skill and to have such a lot of input into your development. We work in pairs and part of the process of developing a draft involves discussing it in detail with another drafter. Over time you begin to see improvements and finding the right structure or solution for even a small issue is very satisfying.
Complementary to the drafting is getting to grips with your role in relation to Parliamentary procedure. This is another intriguing part of the job, and involves building a close working relationship with the Parliamentary clerks and Whips’ offices. The job therefore has many layers and offers a really fascinating career, where there will always be something new to learn.
As a workplace OPC is a supportive and collaborative place to be, with a strong sense of office identity. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in the wider life of the office. OPC is committed to being as diverse and inclusive as it can be and my role as D&I champion means that I am able to spend time developing and implementing ideas to help deliver this important goal. I am passionate about ensuring that we build an office that properly represents the community that we serve.