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Hugh Mawby
Eleanor Hourigan
Giles Seal
Jane Carmichael
Rosie Sarrington
Matthew Heydon

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Rosie Sarrington

Department of Trade & Industry

“I’ve always been interested by politics and the way in which society structures itself through laws – so, for me, the GLS was the ideal choice.

I’d been working at the Home Office for three years before I took a law conversion course and applied to become a GLS lawyer. I’d previously done an English degree at Newcastle University and a Masters at Durham, and knew then that I wanted to convert to law. I just wasn’t sure which area to focus on. My experience at the Home Office, where I’d focused on asylum and immigration issues as a caseworker, ignited my interest in the GLS in particular. I knew I’d be dealing with issues of real national importance and that the work would be highly stimulating intellectually.

As a GLS trainee, I’ve been assigned to the DTI as my home Department. My first seat was in the DTI Company Law Branch. It gave me excellent drafting experience - my team was working on the new Companies Bill, one of the largest pieces of legislation ever to go through Parliament. I advised policy clients on converting policy into law and then drafted the instructions to Parliamentary Counsel.

I also saw the Bill introduced into the House of Lords and worked on it as it passed through the Committee stages of the Lords which was held in Grand Committee. I attended meetings with stakeholders, ministerial meetings and sat “in the box” to advise the Minister during Grand Committee. That type of exposure to legislation is unique to the work of the GLS lawyer.

For my second seat, I was seconded to the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol). I handled a caseload of mainly personal injury claims against various Government Departments, and helped other lawyers in my team with their cases. The highlight was assisting with a hearing at the Court of Appeal on a big case for the Highways Agency.

I’m currently in my third seat, which is back at the DTI in a team advising the Human Resources and Employment Relations Directorates. Part of my job is to help put into effect legislation concerning DTI employees’ individual rights. A case in point is the new age discrimination legislation, for which my branch was responsible. It’s exciting to be so closely involved in major legislation that affects so many people. My fourth seat will also be an advisory one at the DTI.

As a GLS trainee, you’re given a lot of responsibility from an early stage, but support is always there if you need it. I can genuinely say that my colleagues are the most interesting, intelligent and professional bunch of people you could ever hope to work with. As a Government lawyer, you have the scope to move into different areas of work - you’re never pigeon holed into a particular area.

As you can imagine, it’s really important to be tuned in to current affairs. If you’re not interested in what the Government is doing, you won’t be fired up by the work Government lawyers do. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Rosie Sarington