Recruitment for Standing Counsel for the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks

The Attorney General is recruiting to fill two vacancies to provide the Comptroller with advice and to act on his behalf before the Courts

Recruitment for Standing Counsel for the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks

The Attorney General is recruiting to fill two vacancies for Standing Counsel for the Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (“Comptroller’s Counsel”), to provide the Comptroller with advice and act on his behalf before the Courts.

The appointments are open to both barristers with a tenancy and solicitors with a higher court advocacy qualification. Although most of the work will come from the Comptroller, advocates may be asked to advise other government departments on intellectual property matters. However, the appointments carry no guarantee of the amount of work that will be available.

The appointments will be for an initial period of three years. There is the possibility of an extension for up to a further three years at the discretion of the Attorney General. It is anticipated that one appointment will begin in October 2026, with the other beginning in April 2027.

Information for applicants (MS Word Document, 92.1 KB)

Application form (MS Word Document, 97 KB)

Reference form (MS Word Document, 84.9 KB)

Equal opportunities form (MS Word Document, 119 KB)

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 31 July 2026.