Legal Officer

Army Legal Services

This is available as a full time Army role.

ABOUT THIS ROLE
MORE DETAILS
HOW TO APPLY

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A CHALLENGING AND VARIED LEGAL CAREER WITHIN THE BRITISH ARMY

THE ARMY NEEDS ACADEMICALLY STRONG, MOTIVATED LEGAL OFFICERS WHO CAN GIVE SOUND LEGAL ADVICE IN DEMANDING ENVIRONMENTS.

The Army Legal Services (ALS) is a delivers specialist military legal support to the British Army. Qualified barristers, solicitors and advocates, the officers of the ALS perform a range of crucial tasks, from prosecuting soldiers charged with offences at courts martial to advising senior commanders on rules of engagement during operations abroad. They also train and advise officers from other parts of the Army on discipline, administrative action and operational law.

Key Responsibilities

Practise your profession without timesheets or billable hours targets.
Travel worldwide delivering legal advice in interesting and challenging environments.
Enjoy a structured career up to the age of 60 with the chance to gain promotion to Major General.
Have a varied workload over a range of legal specialisms.
Gain post-graduate qualifications, subsidised by the Army.

REGULAR
(FULL TIME)

Training For The Role

Step 1
As a Legal Officer, you'll spend 9 months training before going to your first legal role. During your first two weeks, you'll conduct your initial training and administration at the Directorate of Army Legal Services.

Step 2
You will then attend the Professionally Qualified Officers' Course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. You'll learn basic military skills, study tactics and take on a range of tasks designed to develop your ability to lead and command.

Step 3
You will then head back to the Directorate of Army Legal Services for your specialist legal training, which will take approximately 6 weeks to complete. You will learn all about the areas of law that you will need as a Legal Officer, including military law, the law of armed conflict, international human right and intelligence law.

Step 4
You will then spend three months with a combat or combat support unit, learning about the Army and getting experience of life as a junior officer, all from a non-legal perspective. This is a key part of the training and gives you the chance to learn about the organisation to which you will be giving advice.

Entry Requirements

Age: 23 years - 32 years

Qualifications: Qualified solicitor, barrister or advocate, qualified in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and have completed your training contract or pupillage

Fitness:

Mid Thigh Pull 76kg
Medicine Ball Throw 3.1m
2km run 10m 15s (multistage fitness test)

More information about the fitness test

Qualifications You Could Get After Training

Higher Rights of Audience (Criminal Courts) whilst prosecuting at SPA LLM

Rank Progression

Learn about rank progression here.

Pay and Benefits

From the Field

“The best thing about the job is that I work for an organisation I truly believe in and respect. My role as an Army lawyer allows me to be directly involved in assisting the Army; be it on operations, advising Commanding Officers both in the UK and Germany or assisting soldiers with various legal problems they may encounter."

HOW TO APPLY

If you've got your qualifications, then apply online. Your application will be passed to our specialist team, who will help guide you through the process towards joining in this role. You'll need to have already completed a 12 month pupillage or 2 year training contract.