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What Our New Recruits Say About Us

What our new recruits say about us

“I joined the Home Office as a legal adviser just over a year ago. I had been at the Bar for 6 years doing general common law, crime and medical negligence and wanted to change direction to do more public law and get back my weekends! On arrival at the Home Office I joined the Immigration and Nationality policy team. I had no experience in immigration or refugee law but that did not matter as the training was on the job and the interesting nature of the work meant that learning was easy.

The team based structure of the Department, the sociable and friendly staff and the fact that there are a number of opportunities to become a specialist in areas other than those of which you have experience has made my time working here hugely enriching.

As well as advisory work, I have worked on the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and been involved in the Parliamentary process from beginning to end. Whilst sometimes I miss being on my feet in court there are numerous opportunities for advocacy in different ways such as briefing Ministers, advising at meetings and delivering training. It is enjoyable and rewarding being part of the policy making process and working on high profile issues whilst not being subject to some of the pressures of private practice."

"I joined the Home Office after specialising in employment law in a commercial law firm, with very little experience in public law or human rights. There is a lot to learn, much of it by on the job training, but also by both external and internal training courses. I have always been keen to work for the Government and since joining the Home Office I can honestly say that I have never been happier professionally.

The work is very varied and always challenging and interesting. Within my first 6 months here I was working on a case before the European Court of Human Rights which took me on a trip to Strasbourg. At the moment I am working on getting the Sex Offences Bill ready for introduction into Parliament. This involves meetings with policy colleagues to discuss policy matters arising from the creation of new offences and the modernising of existing offences and then instructing Parliamentary Counsel on the drafting of the legislation. Once the Bill is introduced I believe I will be spending quite a bit of time in the House of Lords and then the Commons advising Ministers during the various stages of the passage of the Bill through Parliament.

My colleagues here all seem to be involved in stimulating work and the atmosphere is friendly and supportive. All in all, it's a thoroughly rewarding job."

“I have been at the Home Office for nearly a year. Following a few years of research and teaching I trained as a solicitor in private practice, qualifying in insurance litigation. After a year of specialisation, I did not consider that the job was going to be sufficiently stimulating or rewarding in the long term – where was the interest, the variety of work and the challenge?
I have certainly found all three at the Home Office. Like many other external recruits, I had little experience of public law before my arrival, having only studied it as a minor but interesting element of my law conversion course several years previously. However, the Department ensures you attend several excellent training courses which provide the new joiner with a good working introduction to the topic.

I advise on extradition and mutual legal assistance casework and policy. In my first year I have advised on major cases of public importance and interest, particularly following the events of 11 September 2001. I have also drafted Statutory Instruments and provided general policy advice. All this requires the ability to quickly grasp the necessary elements of domestic public and international law. This is in addition to my work on unrelated ad hoc Departmental projects on the implementation of the Human Rights Act and the Government’s future approach to criminal law – and all this within my first year.

It has been a steep learning curve. However, I believe this is the reward and my interest is sustained by the nature and variety of work which you can only get by working in Government and in the knowledge that you are working in the public interest in a current affairs environment. Also, as a Home Office lawyer, you are a member of the Government Legal Service, which provides training and a cross-department network of contacts, expertise and future opportunities. I have no regrets."