A day in the life: a UK government lawyer in Geneva

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Writing this from the departure gate of Johannesburg airport after a week of discussions on international humanitarian law, a day in the life as the legal counsellor to the UK Mission in Geneva is rarely the same. A statement laced with bias: my role is extraordinary.

My role is a legal ‘posting’ within the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to one of the UK’s missions. Geneva is one of six locations for FCDO legal postings available across the UK government overseas network, with other UK government lawyers based in Brussels, New York, the Hague, Washington, DC, and Strasbourg. My portfolio in Geneva covers a broad range of international law, from disarmament to human rights, health to humanitarian, where I represent the UK in United Nations (UN) multilateral negotiations and work with ambassadors and policy colleagues on diverse international law issues.

While my current role is legal, it differs from most legal roles because the focus is on legal diplomacy rather than advisory or litigation. My job is to build and strengthen networks across Geneva, including the more than 40 international organisations and bodies based here, as well as other State Missions, civil society and academic institutions. This means my desk and books are often traded for microphones, meetings over coffee and a search for the trifecta (a corner in the United Nations Palais with a plug, seat and something that resembles a desk), so I can catch-up on emails and report back to London.

A day in the life

No day is the same in Geneva, but here’s an example…

8:30am to 10:00am: Closed roundtable discussion with States and Civil Society, chaired by the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, to discuss the development of a new initiative to champion recognition and increase protection of environmental defenders.

10:30am to 12:00pm: Represented the UK in a negotiation (an ‘informal’) of a UN resolution for the Human Rights Council (HRC) on the recognition of a “right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment”.

12:00pm to 1:00pm: Attended a HRC side event on the role of human rights defenders in the context of atrocity crimes.

1:00pm to 2.30pm: Lunch with legal counterparts from the US, Canada and Australia to exchange on ongoing and upcoming negotiations at the UN HRC, lethal autonomous weapons systems and the Pandemic Agreement at the World Health Organisation.

2:30pm to 3:00pm: Meeting with our fantastic UK Mission interns to discuss learning and development opportunities.

3:30pm to 4:00pm: Call with the British Red Cross to discuss preparations and UK engagement in the Sixth Commonwealth Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference on International Humanitarian Law taking place in South Africa.

4:00pm to 5.30pm: Meeting to discuss the campaign for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

5.30pm: Meeting with the American Society of International Law (ASIL) to discuss my participation on a panel on working in international law at its newly launched conference, ASIL Abroad, in Geneva.

How I got here?

I’m going to be honest, pursuing a career in international law isn’t easy. It’s a competitive field and one that can feel inaccessible to budding students and junior lawyers, especially those of us who can’t afford to work for free or study expensive law qualifications. While I can’t speak for all, this is at least how I felt as an undergraduate student and legal trainee. There’s a perception that the only way into international law is by doing unpaid internships, going to private school and Oxbridge and having multiple language skills.

However, there are increasingly varied ways to get here. The FCDO has hugely expanded its recruitment pool in recent years, with a recruitment round aimed at those with public and commercial law backgrounds. As international engagement is increasingly mainstreamed across other government departments, it’s also now possible to get lots of exposure to international law in the Government Legal Department, advising on trade negotiations, climate and net zero, international shipping, defence policy and more.

I’m a good example of this in practice. Prior to joining the FCDO, I was in the Department for Exiting the European Union, working to negotiate the terms of the UK’s withdrawal and our future relationship with the European Union. Before that I worked for the Legal Secretariat to the Advocate General and the Government Legal Service for Scotland, where I got a solid grounding in all things public law. I’ve completed a master’s in international law, but I studied this recently alongside my role in FCDO and the UK Mission to make it affordable and, while helpful to my day job, an LLM isn’t a prerequisite for joining FCDO. I also don’t have an Oxbridge background. I attended the equally fantastic (and beautiful) University of Glasgow, which offers a brilliant range of international law subjects.  

Admittedly, it can be a harder climb into international law without pre-made/existing networks and financial flexibility. However, being consistent and proactive at looking for (and often developing your own) opportunities to work in international law pays dividends. I once read an article that described a younger brother’s ambition to become an ambassador. The older brother observed his brother throughout the years making decisions with the guiding question: “Will this opportunity move me closer to becoming an ambassador?” While fully cognisant that ambitions can change and life isn’t a straight line, this incremental approach to reaching a goal resonated with me at the start of my career, and still does to this day. Here are a handful of my lessons learned: 

• The importance of 5%. Even where 95% of your role is in another area of law, finding that 5% file to work on international law can be an excellent steppingstone to where you want to go.
• Take and create opportunities. When opportunities appear, put yourself forward, and say yes when it’s offered. Don’t waste energy worrying about whether you’re up to the challenge – if you’re prepared to work hard, challenges turn into opportunities. Create opportunities to get more exposure to international law: write blogs, review case law, think about how wider international law is relevant to your organisation and find a way to spotlight that.
• Volunteer. If you have time, volunteer for civil society organisations that work on issues pertinent to international law or international affairs.
• Be explicit. Make it known to your line manager (and their line manager) that you’re interested in international law. While not guaranteed, this can lead to opportunities being flagged to you that you might’ve otherwise missed or have been allocated to someone else.
• Get networking. International law is ultimately one big network. Go to international law events, ask a question, speak to those working in the field.
• Be open to the journey. There’s merit in not being too specific in your aim. Remain focused but be open to new areas that pique your interest along the way.
• Be patient. Taking the long route has its benefits. Those who get there first don’t benefit or develop from the wider experiences collected when taking the longer road to your goal.
• Last but not least, don’t be too hard on yourself in the face of rejection. The field is competitive. I was turned down by numerous law firms before I secured my legal traineeship. While I can’t speak on behalf of the younger brother who became an ambassador, I’ve never regretted my choice to keep trying.  

Lucinda Stallard is a UK government lawyer in Geneva.