National Legal Trainee Scheme - Barrister - January 2026 (October 2027 start)

Job summary

Are you an aspiring barrister with an interest in criminal law? Apply for the Crown Prosecution Service legal trainee scheme now and start your training pathway in October 2027.

At the Crown Prosecution Service, we’re responsible for delivering justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime.

At the Crown Prosecution Service, we’re responsible for delivering justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime. We are the biggest employer of criminal law specialists in England and Wales, and ranked as one of the most attractive employers for law students by Universum. We’re proud to be recognised by our legal trainees in the Legal 500 Future Lawyers survey 2025 for our Client secondments, confidence of being kept on, work/life balance, inclusiveness, international secondments and approachability.

As a pupil barrister, you’re supported by a highly trained supervisor who offers guidance and opportunities to develop your understanding of working as an advocate. Your first six months are non-practising – completing advocacy training, legal courses and an optional secondment in chambers. During your remaining six months, you put your training into practice – building your advocacy skills, presenting cases in court and working with criminal justice partners.

You can develop your knowledge by working in specialist crime areas including rape and serious sexual offences, organised crime and fraud. We’re committed to your professional growth and expect, following your initial role in the magistrates’ court, that you have the necessary skills to apply for promotion opportunities based in the Crown Court including senior crown prosecutor and senior crown advocate roles.

Hear from our Crown Prosecution Service legal trainees, Kane, former Legal Trainee

We currently have two adverts live, one for a pupil barrister role and one for a trainee solicitor role. You can only submit one application for these vacancies. If you apply for both positions, or the same position more than once, we will only accept an application for the first role you applied for and will automatically reject the second.

In addition, we have two adverts live for Welsh speakers. If you are an aspiring barrister or solicitor who speaks Welsh, we encourage you to apply under one of those adverts www.cps.gov.uk/careers/legal-trainee-cy

Job description

Our legal trainee scheme is an extensive training programme to help you become a fully qualified barrister. You gain valuable experience in all areas of criminal law, from reviewing cases and preparing pre-charge advice to meeting with victims and witnesses. You’re guaranteed a permanent position as a crown prosecutor or crown advocate after successfully completing your pupillage.

Your role and responsibilities

• To prepare cases for prosecution on summary-only and either-way offences in the magistrates’ court working with caseworkers, meeting witnesses and supporting counsel.
• To advise police and other investigators on charging decisions, and work with criminal justice partners, defence lawyers and counsel on casework.
• To shadow prosecutors at magistrates’ and Crown Court, and observe advocacy.
• To attend conferences with police and counsel, and meetings with victims and witnesses.
• To carry out legal research and provide feedback to your legal supervisor and other Crown Prosecution Service colleagues.
• To work with a supervisor throughout your pupillage, keeping accurate records of work and meeting to discuss your training progress.

Person specification

We're looking for people with:

• a demonstrable interest in criminal prosecution and public service
• demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system
• a strong focus on continuous learning and the ability to apply knowledge of criminal law gained from study and experience
• commitment to a career as a lawyer practising criminal law in the Crown Prosecution Service

Qualifications

Undergraduate degree
You must hold a minimum of a 2:2 university undergraduate degree. This doesn’t need to be in law, we consider equivalent undergraduate degrees.

If you have completed the Legal Practice Course and have an undergraduate degree at a minimum of a 2:2 in a subject other than law, you must have completed one of the following conversion courses:
• Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
• Common Professional Examination (CPE)

Postgraduate qualifications
You must have successfully completed or be due to complete the Bar course to be able to start the legal trainee scheme in October 2027.

You must provide your qualifications to our recruitment team by 1 September 2027. If you’re unable to provide confirmation of all qualifications by this time, you’re removed from the process. No deferrals will be accepted if you are unable to meet the qualification requirement.

The Crown Prosecution Service doesn't offer sponsorship for vocational qualifications.

If you don’t include your undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications on your application form, you won’t meet the eligibility criteria and are removed from the recruitment process.

Pupillage must usually start within five years of completing the Bar course. If this period lapses, you need Bar Standards Board authorisation to reactivate your qualification. This involves an application to the regulator and can take up to 16 weeks to authorise. It is your responsibility to ensure stale qualifications are reactivated in time for starting pupillage. If you don’t reactive stale qualifications in time, your offer for the scheme will be withdrawn.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Undergraduate Degree
• Postgraduate Qualifications

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,700, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £8,893 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Join the Crown Prosecution Service and find your purpose.

Why we work for the Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service is passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.

This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.

The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience.

• You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities.
• You are able to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources.
• We care about your wellbeing.
• We want you to feel valued, trusted and included.

We also offer the following range of benefits:

• Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• £350 each year to spend on personal development
• lawyer training programme for all new prosecutors
• an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• flexible working including flexitime, and a family friendly approach to work
• Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.

Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact Earlycareers@cps.gov.uk

The Crown Prosecution Service has fixed rates for its Executive Officer grade – a developing rate (the starting salary) and a spot rate (the maximum salary). You join us on the developing rate and, after completing a 15-month development period, move to the spot rate if your line manager confirms you’re performing the role to a satisfactory standard.

All legal trainees will be regraded to a B1 grade at the developing rate salary during your pupillage. If you are currently paid at the B1 spot rate or above (including if you are an other government department or existing Crown Prosecution Service employee at a higher grade at the point of application), you will join the at the B1 spot rate salary for the duration of your pupillage.

Upon successful completion of the legal trainee scheme, you will then move onto the relevant crown prosecutor or crown advocate Level 1 salary.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Behaviours – assessed at legal assessment and interviews

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to help you do a great job in this role. You are assessed against grade Executive Officer/Level 2 in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing these four behaviours.

The lead behaviour is motivation, which carries the greatest weighting in the overall assessment. Other behaviours are listed in order of importance:

1. Motivation (lead behaviour) video interview and final interview
2. Legal intellect - assessment
3. Making effective decisions - final interview
4. Communicating and influencing – video interview, assessment and final interview
5. Managing a Quality Service - final interview
6. Working Together - final interview

Motivation – video interview and final interview

We want to understand why you’re interested in the law and why you want to work for the Crown Prosecution Service. We’re looking for you to address the following four things in your interview and assessment.

• A demonstrable interest in criminal prosecution and public service.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system.
• A strong focus on continuous learning and the ability to apply knowledge of criminal law gained from study and experience.
• Commitment to a career as a lawyer practising criminal law in the Crown Prosecution Service.

Ability: Communication – assessed at video interview

We want to understand your communication styles and are looking for:

• a clear and concise communication style
• positive engagement
• an ability to communicate effectively under time-limited situations

Ability: Communicating and influencing and legal intellect – assessed at final interview and assessment

We want to understand your communicating and influencing abilities and are looking for:

• an ability to present a case orally and in writing in a measured, engaging and persuasive manner
• an ability to produce clear, impactful and structured written work
• clear and articulate in oral communication

We want to understand your legal intellect and are looking for:

• sound knowledge and understanding of legal principles or a potential to develop this
• an ability to research and learn unfamiliar areas of knowledge, including technical areas of law
• an ability to analyse a set of facts, identifying the relevant factual and legal issues
• an ability to apply principles logically, precisely and with sound judgement.

First stage – online tests and application

You submit your short application form through Civil Service Jobs. You're then invited to complete the Civil Service casework skills test and Civil Service verbal test online.

If you fail either the casework skills or verbal reasoning test, your application is rejected and you're not able to reapply. Any duplicate applications are rejected.

For more information about the online Civil Service tests, visit Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK.

If you pass these tests, you’re invited to submit your full application form and CV through Civil Service Jobs. This must be submitted by 1pm Wednesday 4 February 2026.

You need to attach your CV as one document of no more than two A4 pages. This won’t be assessed but provides the panel with an insight into your work history and experience.

Your CV should include:

• career history with key responsibilities
• skills and experience
• achievements
• qualifications

In the qualification section of your application form, please provide:

• your undergraduate degree classification
• your Bar Practice Course or Common Professional Examination if your undergraduate degree is in a subject other than law – if this is the case for you, you should select 'other' under the qualification title

Second stage – video interview

If you pass the first recruitment stage, you are invited to a video interview. Invitations to the video interviews are emailed separately directly from our recruitment team. These are sent between 5th - 6th February – full guidance and instructions for the video interview process are provided with your invitation.

If you require any reasonable adjustments for the video interview, please contact earlycareers@cps.gov.uk by 1pm 9 February 2026.

Any requests after this time may not be able to be accommodated.

You can access the video interview system from 1pm 9 February 2026 and you must have fully completed and submitted your video interview by 1pm 13 February 2026.

We want to understand why you want to work in the Crown Prosecution Service. We assess your motivation and strengths at this stage to determine your suitability for the role.

The panel reserve the right to mark the lead strength at shortlist and raise the minimum standard pass mark for this strength at this stage in the selection process the lead strength at video interview is motivation.

Third stage – final interview and assessment

If you pass the second recruitment stage, you're invited to an assessment and interview with a Crown Prosecution Service panel. You’re given full guidance and instructions about this process with your invitation.

Interviews take place from 11 March – 10 April 2026 through Microsoft Teams.

You’re invited to book an interview slot on our online booking system from Monday 2 March 2026.

We ask that you note the dates that the interview and assessments are due to take place. However, these dates may be subject to change, and we can’t guarantee alternative interview dates.

Offer of employment

If we offer you a role, offers will be sent from 8May 2026 with pre-employment checks beginning in May 2027.

Need more information before you apply?
Our Legal Trainee Scheme chatbot is available 24/7 to answer your questions about the scheme, the recruitment process, and what to expect.https://meetandengage.com/amjcvaimq

Information sessions
We are holding a series of information sessions – these are live webchats where you can ask us any queries you may have about your application, the process or the roles. You can register here:

13 January 2026 13:00 - 14:00 https://meetandengage.com/amj2p5kyv

21 January 2026 16:00 - 17:00 https://meetandengage.com/amj2pagp5

Strengths

Strengths are tested at video interview and final interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Reasonable adjustments

Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identify or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact EarlyCareers@cps.gov.uk.

Locations

These roles are available nationally. Please indicate your top three preferred locations on your application. We allocate posts in merit order and aim to match preferences, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Your training will take place in the location you accept when offered, and this cannot be changed later.

You will be assigned a supervisor in this location for the duration of your training.

Mandatory Attendance: Pupillage requires daily attendance at court or the office in your assigned location. Attendance is essential for training and cannot be substituted with remote work. Regular mandatory courses may require overnight stays, which are covered under the travel and subsistence policy.

The Crown Prosecution Service is a Disability Confident employer and will make reasonable adjustments to support attendance requirements.

We consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, bearing in mind the operational needs of the department.

Eligibility

If you apply and are found not to meet the academic, nationality or immigration criteria during application or onboarding, you will be removed from the process.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. Find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace - National Inclusion Week , The Crown Prosecution Service

Clearance

If successful, you need Disclosure and Barring Service clearance, and Security Check clearance. For Security Check clearance you need to have lived in the UK for three out of the last five years and must currently be living within the UK. For both, you must have a current valid UK address.

If you’re an internal member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

Please note that the Crown Prosecution Service is unable to offer visa sponsorship. If you need visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you won't meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Reserve list

If you’re recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to this current vacancy, you’re placed on a reserve list for 12 months in case any further vacancies arise. It’s not guaranteed that you will be offered a position within this time.

Fraud check

The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Insiders Threat Database. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : EarlyCareers@cps.gov.uk
• Email : EarlyCareers@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : EarlyCareers@cps.gov.uk

Further information

Civil Service Commission
If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact strategic.resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.
If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, you can do that through the Civil Service Commission complaints page.
Here are our Civil Service Commissioners recruitment principles.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend the final interview and assessment.

Attachments

CPS Terms and Conditions Opens in new window (docx, 253kB)