Grade 7 Planning and Infrastructure Lawyer | London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol

Job Description

Planning and Infrastructure Lawyers

Location: London, Bristol, Leeds or Manchester
Salary: London £61,200 & National £59,200

External candidates at Grade 7 should expect their salary upon appointment to be £61,200 per annum London and £59,200 National, Legal Officers should expect their salary to be £47,541 for both London and National.

Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of their appointment. Modernised terms and conditions will apply.

Existing civil servants on level transfer will retain their current basic salary if it is within the GLD pay range. 

If your salary is higher than the GLD grade maxima you will be placed on the maxima of the pay range and receive the difference as a mark-time allowance, if agreed by HR.

The role

Up to 10 posts are offered across a number of teams within the Government Legal Department, as part of DLUHC Legal Advisers, DESNZ Legal Advisers and GLD Litigation's Planning, Infrastructure and Environment Litigation Team.

DLUHC – In relation to DLUHC the teams have a range of high profile and fascinating advisory work and are currently working of implementation of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023. The team also advises on high profile planning case work; where planning permission and appeal decisions are taken directly by the Secretary of State. The case work is demanding and provides excellent public law experience. Recent cases have included climate change challenges against Secretary of State decisions involving minerals extraction and environmental assessment, challenges to particular decisions to call-in applications for planning permission and challenges in relation to changes to definitions in the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites.

DESNZ provides legal support on national planning casework and planning policy development. The work ranges from legal support on planning consent applications for large energy infrastructure projects and overhead powerlines to working with DLUHC and DEFRA on planning reforms. The work is planning and environmentally focussed, encompassing the application of the
current regime as well as supporting new developments in response to government commitments on Net Zero and Energy Security. The team also provides advisory support on judicial reviews. We are seeking lawyers with any experience in planning law, whether national or local.

GLD Litigation – In relation to GLD Litigation the team represents the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Transport in challenges to decisions which fall to their Ministers. The work of the team is extremely varied but covers the full range of public law planning litigation relating to statutory planning appeals and high profile judicial review challenges against decisions in respect of infrastructure projects (for example airport expansion or nuclear power station consent orders) and the related legislative regimes pertaining to, for example, environmental assessments or climate change.

The work is important, often politically and publicly controversial and regularly progresses to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Strong intellectual and analytical skills are key. We seek lawyers with post qualification experience in planning law to join the team. Advisory Lawyers

The work of advisory lawyers is fast-paced, extremely varied and always stretching and interesting. The work involves a highly diverse range of activity, including:

• providing legal advice, particularly planning, environmental and public law advice, to Ministers and officials across the relevant portfolio;
• involvement in legislation, working closely with policy leads and Parliamentary Counsel, as well as advising Ministers throughout a Bill's passage through Parliament;
• drafting secondary legislation;
• providing advisory support in legal challenges; and
• advising on all aspects of legal risk.
• Litigation Lawyers

The work of litigation lawyers is fast-paced, extremely varied and always stretching and interesting. Our litigators gain early responsibility for their own caseload within a supportive team environment, working alongside counsel from the Attorney General's Panels. They also play a crucial co-ordination role when litigation involves several Government Departments. Lawyers work
closely with policy colleagues and advisory legal colleagues in client Departments to advise on litigation risk and to develop realistic contingency plans when the litigation risk materialises. The work involves a highly diverse range of activity, including:

• providing legal advice, particularly planning, environmental and public law advice, to Ministers and officials across the relevant client portfolios in the context of litigation; and
• Strategic litigation support to policy officials, Ministers and advisory colleagues in legal challenges, preparing cases and attending court when necessary.

If you would prefer to download all the information relating to these vacancies, you can do so by downloading the PDF file from the attachment section.

This vacancy will close on the 5th June 2024 at noon. 

If you have any questions about your application, please contact the GLD Recruitment Team:

Telephone: 0845 3000 793 or 0117 923 4417

Email: govqualified@tmpw.co.uk