Government on the hunt for lawyers who want to tackle Brexit for £48,400
The Government Legal Department is looking to hire up to 17 qualified lawyers to help it navigate Brexit, for a starting salary of £48,400.
The freshly hired lawyers will be expected to work alongside the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Duties could included providing legal guidance as the UK becomes an independent member of the World Trade Organisation, helping to deliver new free trade agreements and assisting the DIT as it drafts its contribution to the Great Repeal Bill.
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Although the role might be the dream job for anybody wanting a hand in the UK's trade position once it leaves the EU, the pay on offer is a far cry from what legal eagles can demand from the private sector.
"You really can't get anyone with any experience in trade law for that price," said Mark Husband, a head hunter at Cogence Search, told Bloomberg. “It's probably the lowest conceivable entry point.
"It's about two-thirds of what someone would require for anyone with any degree of experience [and] about a fifth of what someone with any experience of trade negotiations would demand."
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Anybody who is interested will need a 2:1 degree at a minimum as well as being a qualified solicitor, barrister or legal executive.
"A solid understanding of trade, public, EU and international law is required, while experience of international negotiations (whether trade or another context) would be desirable," the job posting added.
A DIT spokesperson: "Ongoing recruitment is enabling us to build a team from the widest pool of talent in the civil service and externally, across a range of policy and corporate expertise and international experience."