Former lord chancellor and serving MP Robert Buckland has joined a London firm in a part-time consultancy role.
Buckland, who served at the Ministry of Justice for two years before being ousted by prime minister Boris Johnson in September 2021, will be head of policy and senior counsel for Payne Hicks Beach.
He will continue to serve as MP for Swindon South and has stressed that his duties and responsibilities to public office remain his ‘primary focus’.
Buckland was called to the bar in 1991 and practised criminal law and planning in Cardiff before he was appointed as a recorder of the Crown court in 2009.
A year later he was elected as an MP and subsequently held ministerial roles as solicitor general, prisons minister and secretary of state for Wales, as well as his two-year stint as lord chancellor.
Buckland said of his new job: ‘I am thrilled to be able to return in part to the work of a lawyer.
‘Alongside my central work as a serving MP to my constituents in South Swindon, this consultancy role at such a reputable firm such as Payne Hicks Beach allows me to balance my life between the work I am honoured to do in public office and the career I trained in as a barrister.’
Dominic Crossley, head of dispute resolution at Payne Hicks Beach, added: ‘His commitment to the law has been evident throughout his political career and his unique insight and experience will be of significant value to the firm and its clients.’
Buckland is the latest former lord chancellor of the last 13 years to return to legal work after serving in the role. In 2020, six months after leaving parliament, David Gauke joined City firm Macfarlanes as its head of policy.
