15206 - Law Commission Lawyer - Criminal Law Team
| Posting date: | 24 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £58,511 to £70,725 per year |
| Additional salary information: | The national salary range is £58,511 - £65,329, London salary range is £63,343 - £70,725. Your salary will be dependent on your base location |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 13 March 2026 |
| Location: | UK |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | Ministry of Justice |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 15206 |
Summary
Law Commission Grade 7 Lawyer – Criminal Law Team
The Law Commission of England and Wales is recruiting a criminal lawyer for the Criminal Law Team. This is an opportunity to make a real difference to the criminal law in England and Wales by working on challenging and high-profile law reform.
This role may involve work on our current project on the Law of Homicide or our upcoming projects on the Insanity Defence, Offences involving Dead Bodies or Consent in the Criminal Law.
Working as part of a small team led by Professor Penney Lewis, the Law Commissioner responsible for criminal law, and engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders, the successful candidate(s) will help to ensure the criminal law works justly in the modern context.
About the Law Commission
The Law Commission offers an unrivalled opportunity to work on some of the most complex legal and policy questions facing our society. It offers stretching, high quality work, the chance to make a positive difference to our society, access to fulfilling learning and development, and a positive work-life balance.
The Commission has, for 60 years, had a unique role – independent, but at the heart of Government. Its aims are:
• To ensure that the law is as fair, modern, simple and cost-effective as possible.
• To conduct research and consultations in order to make recommendations for reform.
• To codify the law, eliminate anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary enactments and reduce the number of separate statutes.
The Law Commission is an independent non-departmental body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It has a judicial Chair, four Commissioners, and around 80 members of staff. Its work is organised into four areas: Property, Family and Trust Law; Commercial and Common Law; Public Law and the Law in Wales; and Criminal Law.
Further information about the Law Commission and its work can found at www.lawcom.gov.uk/ .
Further information can be found at https://lawcom.gov.uk/working-at-law-commission/
About our lawyers
We recruit brilliant, creative lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds to join our teams. But our lawyers are not just lawyers. They engage in policy making, legislative procedure, project management and leadership. They examine legal and policy issues from every angle, engage closely with a huge range of stakeholders from all walks of life, draft clear and compelling consultation papers and reports, and work with Government officials to take our work forward in Parliament. While lawyers in private practice apply the law to individual cases, lawyers at the Law Commission have freedom to consider what the law should be.
About the Criminal Law team
The Criminal Law team conducts high profile project work across the criminal law of England and Wales. We have an excellent record in practical law reform. In recent years Parliament has passed laws based on our recommendations relating to intimate image abuse, corporate criminal liability, communications offences and the protection of official data, among others.
Our project on the Law of Homicide is currently underway and will run until 2028. Once our projects on Criminal Appeals and Contempt of Court are completed in 2026/27, we will start work on projects considering reform of the Insanity Defence, Offences Against Dead Bodies, and Consent in the Criminal Law.
The role
The main duties for the role include:
• Leading, or co-leading, one or more law reform projects against an agreed timetable with the Commissioner and the Team Head, including its day-to-day and strategic management.
• Leading research of the law and how it works in practice (both in the UK and overseas).
• Analysing problems with the law, identifying options for reform and testing potential solutions.
• Engaging with stakeholders, both inside and outside Government.
• Writing consultation papers, reports and other documents in conjunction with the Commissioner, the Team Head and other team members, and preparing these for publication.
• Analysing consultation responses.
• Working with other professionals within the Law Commission including: the Head of Legal, the Head of Communications to organise publicity for our work; and the Economic Adviser to analyse the impact of reform options; and Parliamentary Counsel to consider legislative drafting.
• Assisting with the promotion and implementation of recommendations from completed projects (including potentially working as part of a Bill Team to take legislation through Parliament) and contributing to the consideration of new project work.
• Managing one or more Research Assistants.
• Contributing to the corporate culture of the Law Commission, for example through supporting and leading activities on areas including: learning and development, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and recruitment.
The Law Commission of England and Wales is recruiting a criminal lawyer for the Criminal Law Team. This is an opportunity to make a real difference to the criminal law in England and Wales by working on challenging and high-profile law reform.
This role may involve work on our current project on the Law of Homicide or our upcoming projects on the Insanity Defence, Offences involving Dead Bodies or Consent in the Criminal Law.
Working as part of a small team led by Professor Penney Lewis, the Law Commissioner responsible for criminal law, and engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders, the successful candidate(s) will help to ensure the criminal law works justly in the modern context.
About the Law Commission
The Law Commission offers an unrivalled opportunity to work on some of the most complex legal and policy questions facing our society. It offers stretching, high quality work, the chance to make a positive difference to our society, access to fulfilling learning and development, and a positive work-life balance.
The Commission has, for 60 years, had a unique role – independent, but at the heart of Government. Its aims are:
• To ensure that the law is as fair, modern, simple and cost-effective as possible.
• To conduct research and consultations in order to make recommendations for reform.
• To codify the law, eliminate anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary enactments and reduce the number of separate statutes.
The Law Commission is an independent non-departmental body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It has a judicial Chair, four Commissioners, and around 80 members of staff. Its work is organised into four areas: Property, Family and Trust Law; Commercial and Common Law; Public Law and the Law in Wales; and Criminal Law.
Further information about the Law Commission and its work can found at www.lawcom.gov.uk/ .
Further information can be found at https://lawcom.gov.uk/working-at-law-commission/
About our lawyers
We recruit brilliant, creative lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds to join our teams. But our lawyers are not just lawyers. They engage in policy making, legislative procedure, project management and leadership. They examine legal and policy issues from every angle, engage closely with a huge range of stakeholders from all walks of life, draft clear and compelling consultation papers and reports, and work with Government officials to take our work forward in Parliament. While lawyers in private practice apply the law to individual cases, lawyers at the Law Commission have freedom to consider what the law should be.
About the Criminal Law team
The Criminal Law team conducts high profile project work across the criminal law of England and Wales. We have an excellent record in practical law reform. In recent years Parliament has passed laws based on our recommendations relating to intimate image abuse, corporate criminal liability, communications offences and the protection of official data, among others.
Our project on the Law of Homicide is currently underway and will run until 2028. Once our projects on Criminal Appeals and Contempt of Court are completed in 2026/27, we will start work on projects considering reform of the Insanity Defence, Offences Against Dead Bodies, and Consent in the Criminal Law.
The role
The main duties for the role include:
• Leading, or co-leading, one or more law reform projects against an agreed timetable with the Commissioner and the Team Head, including its day-to-day and strategic management.
• Leading research of the law and how it works in practice (both in the UK and overseas).
• Analysing problems with the law, identifying options for reform and testing potential solutions.
• Engaging with stakeholders, both inside and outside Government.
• Writing consultation papers, reports and other documents in conjunction with the Commissioner, the Team Head and other team members, and preparing these for publication.
• Analysing consultation responses.
• Working with other professionals within the Law Commission including: the Head of Legal, the Head of Communications to organise publicity for our work; and the Economic Adviser to analyse the impact of reform options; and Parliamentary Counsel to consider legislative drafting.
• Assisting with the promotion and implementation of recommendations from completed projects (including potentially working as part of a Bill Team to take legislation through Parliament) and contributing to the consideration of new project work.
• Managing one or more Research Assistants.
• Contributing to the corporate culture of the Law Commission, for example through supporting and leading activities on areas including: learning and development, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and recruitment.