Government lawyers stretched by Brexit

The Government Legal Department (GLD) has warned that its lawyers face serious capacity challenges as they work on Brexit, which will be additional to the full range of legal services that they already provide in all areas of government.

The GLD employs 2,000 people, 1,400 of whom are solicitors, barristers and paralegals. It has stated that its priority is to provide effective legal support to the government as the latter prepares to oversee the country’s exit from the European Union. However, the extra demands have added to pressure on the GLD’s capacity. As the Law Gazette reports, the GLD has put together a central team for drafting statutory instruments to help it cope with all the extra work. The team is currently working on Brexit-related drafting.

The GLD stated in its report: "The demands [Brexit] will place on us will require even greater agility in our planning and the use of resources.”