The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is encouraging solicitors, barristers and Fellows of CILEX in England and Wales to apply for 128 Recorder roles, with vacancies across all jurisdictions.
Recorders deal with cases within a mid-range of complexity and legal difficulty across the criminal, family and civil jurisdictions. Applicants should have at least seven years of post-qualification legal experience and be able to offer a reasonable length of service – usually four years – before the statutory retirement age of 75.
The majority of their work comprises trials and substantive hearings but they also undertake interlocutory and case management hearings and some civil Fast Track trials. They deal with appeals from Magistrates Courts in crime, and with appeals from district judges in civil and family matters, and are required to manage cases actively as well as determining claims at trial.
According to the JAC, the work requires “significant intellectual ability, flexibility of mind and an ability to acquire new skills and apply existing skills in new ways”. They are appointed nationally and assigned by the Lady Chief Justice to a circuit within England and Wales.
Successful applicants are free to maintain a practice as a CILEX lawyer, solicitor or barrister alongside their Recorder duties. Experience of the jurisdictions is not a pre-requisite for appointment and recommendations will be made solely on merit. Final deployment decisions will be made by the Senior Presiding Judge.
The full details are on the JAC website. Applications close at 1pm on Thursday 14 May 2026.
