Working for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel: Shuchi Shah
Updated 7 July 2023
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I joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 2017 after spending several years as a litigator in the City. I was looking for a role that has social impact and where I would be able to make positive changes in society through the law. Drafting legislation enables you to do just that.
Legislation is one of the key ways in which the Government implements its policies. When drafting legislation, Parliamentary Counsel seek to ensure that those policies are implemented in a manner which is legally sound, which achieves the intended outcomes and which avoids as many unintended consequences as possible. Drafting is an iterative process: questions that arise when drafting can result in changes to the policy, which in turn influences the draft. The opportunity to shape policy through this iterative process is often the most enjoyable part of the job.
Drafting legislation is immensely challenging and exceptionally rewarding. The work requires you to be creative whilst working within certain parameters. Your goal is to produce a draft which is effective, clear and precise; which takes into account existing legislation, case law and judicial approaches; and which is politically tenable so that it passes through the Houses of Parliament. Meeting any of these requirements is difficult, let alone all of them. So when you first join the Office, you work with more experienced drafters who will review and comment on your drafts and help you to improve them. You also comment on their drafts, and often junior drafters bring a fresh perspective which is equally valuable. It takes several years to become a fully-fledged drafter and, as far as I can tell, you never stop learning. For most of us, that is the icing on the cake.