The Royal Air Force Legal Branch (RAFLB) or Directorate Legal Services (DLS) - as it is better known - is the uniformed legal service provider for the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. It consists of solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

s and barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

s qualified in a Commonwealth

Commonwealth

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...

 jurisdiction. DLS is headquartered at Air Command RAF High Wycombe. The Directorate is currently staffed by a mixture of members of:

• The Law Society of England and Wales;
• The Law Society of Scotland;
• The Bar Council of England and Wales; and
• The Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet.

History

The RAF Legal Branch was formed on 1 October 1948. Its predecessor was the Air Force Department of the Office of Judge Advocate General.

Role

It is open to men or women; those that have been recruited vary from NQ to 10 years PQE. DLS has around 50 legal officers. Around 30% of DLS officers are based in overseas billets. The type of work undertaken by legal officers depends on the billet they are working at. Around 50% of the billets are discipline / criminal law

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

, 30% of the billets are operations law and 20 % of the billets are administrative law.
The RAF also provides 4 Legal Officers to the Service Prosecuting Authority.

Staff

The current Director Legal Services is Air Vice Marshal L J Irvine and his deputy is Air Commodore W H Boothby. Air Commodore Boothby, upon retirement, is to be replaced by Air Commodore S J Kell.

Start of appointment	Director	Deputy Director
	Air Vice-Marshal Charles RAF	Air Commodore Irvine J Irvine MA(Oxon) MA(Lond) DipLaw RAF
April 2009	Air Vice Marshal Lindsay J Irvine MA(Oxon) MA(Lond) DipLaw RAF	Air Commodore William H Boothby BA PhD RAF
July 2011	Air Vice Marshal Lindsay J Irvine MA(Oxon) MA(Lond) DipLaw RAF	Air Commodore S J Kell RAF

Career

The career structure of a legal officer within DLS is as follows. Commissioning

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 on a short service commission as a Flight Lieutenant

Flight Lieutenant

Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...

 after a 3 month PQO course at RAF Cranwell

RAF Cranwell

RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...

. If the candidate is suitable then appointment to a permanent commission should follow and time served promotion should apply - i.e. Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...

 after four years and Wing Commander

Wing Commander (rank)

Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...

after a further six.

External links

• Home page of the RAF Legal Branch