Home > Lawyer Recruitment > Life as a GLS Lawyer > Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke

It was the unique opportunity to help make the law which attracted Richard Clarke to the Government Legal Service.

“The idea of making legislation – taking Bills through Parliament and working with Ministers – was really exciting,” he says. “I’d previously worked in Local Government, where I was involved in interpreting legislation rather than drafting and changing it. As a Government lawyer, you’re at the heart of the legislative process."

“Less than a month after I joined the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in August 2001, I was put to work on the Education Act 2002. Shortly after I had started working on the Bill I was surprised to see that the policy that I was advising on had made the front page of the Independent. During the passage of the Bill I had frequent contact with senior Government figures. Like all DfES lawyers, I worked in an advisory capacity – focusing on school organisational matters. The whole process was very exciting.”

Richard is now doing his second DfES job as an advisory lawyer in the governance and finance team. “The work involves procurement and PFI (Public Finance Initiative) – I’m currently working on a project called Building Schools for the Future,” he says. “It’s a Government initiative to ensure that the country’s secondary schools are equipped with twenty-first century facilities.

“I’d already done a fair amount of education law before I joined the DfES. During and after my training contract at the London Borough of Redbridge, I tended to specialise in education and social services law. I’d done a degree in social science before converting to law, so working in that area seemed a natural progression. But education and social services are frequently dealt with by the same team in local authorities, so both became part of my remit, first at Redbridge and subsequently at the London Borough of Barnet.”

When Richard returned to the Borough of Redbridge two years later, he found himself doing even more education work. It partly prompted his decision, two years later again, to apply for a post as a DfES lawyer. “One of my colleagues at Redbridge had become a Government lawyer and had very positive things to say about it,” he recalls.

“She was absolutely right. As a GLS lawyer, you gain an additional range of skills which you can take with you around Government if you decide to move. I’d now describe myself as a Government lawyer rather than just an education lawyer."

“The GLS is a fantastic community of lawyers. It gives you access to resources like LION (Legal Information Online Network, a dedicated intranet service), high quality training and a range of interesting events. You have unparalleled opportunities to network with other lawyers and to find out what’s going on in other Government Departments. You can also enjoy an excellent work/life balance. The DfES in particular offers generous homeworking facilities."

“I’m part of a large and friendly team - we help each other out and there’s a strong cooperative spirit. I love the variety of work on offer, although I still find Bill work the most exciting. It’s so high profile that your advice informs part of the debate in Parliament and you can see your input when the legislative process has been completed. There’s really nothing else like it.”