By Bianca Castro >>
(29 October 2024)
The Crown Prosecution Service has launched a programme for newly qualified practitioners which the organisation hopes will serve as a ‘launchpad’ for new lawyers.
Go Prosecute aims to help barristers ‘forge a strong relationship’ with the CPS at the start of their career. Inspired by similar schemes in other sectors, such as Teach First and Police Now, Go Prosecute is the first of its kind to be offered by the CPS. The organisation worked closely with the Bar Council to ensure the programme catered for early career barristers and improve prosecution resources.
Successful applicants to the programme will join the CPS at the newly-created crown advocate one (CA1) grade, the entry grade for advocates undertaking prosecution work within the Crown court.
The first year will be spent working on cases in the magistrates’ court, youth court and non-contested hearings and appeals in the Crown court. In the second year, which is optional, barristers will work on more complex work involving jury trials.
The CPS hopes the programme will help boost its in-house capacity to help address the shortage of barristers and ‘tackle court delays’. The CPS said it is also increasing the number of CPS prosecution advocates and creating the new CA1 grade to help retain more in-house trainee pupil barristers by giving them better career progression opportunities inside the CPS.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said: ‘I’m really pleased to announce Go Prosecute, which I want to serve as a launchpad for barristers at the start of their careers. We depend on lawyers in private practice for much of our advocacy work and I wanted to create an initiative which provided significant support for those lawyers by giving them the type of insights that can only be gained by working in-house.
‘I believe this will be a foundational experience which will benefit successful applicants for the rest of their careers. Had such a scheme been available when I started out, I am certain that I would have applied.’
Sam Townend KC, Bar chair, said the initiative would ‘help to bolster the workforce needed to prosecute cases’. He added: ‘Employed practice provides to new barristers the opportunity to learn different skills and to widen their expertise. As a profession we are open to greater transference between the employed and self-employed Bar.
‘Go Prosecute is an innovative way to support barrister career development, offering a different career path, and will bring much-needed additional prosecution resources into the criminal justice system.’
Solicitor general Sarah Sackman KC said she welcomed the opportunity for barristers ‘to broaden their career opportunities by gaining crucial experience as prosecutors’.
The scheme has 10 vacancies available across England and Wales and applications are now open. Offers will be made in December and successful candidates will start in January 2025.
(Courtesy: The Law Society Gazette)
