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 The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. It consists of

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

s qualified in a

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

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 The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

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 A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

. 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 is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

, 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.

Career

The career structure of a legal officer within DLS would commence with a short service commission as a

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

after a 3-month SERE course at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

. If the candidate is suitable then appointment to a permanent commission and subsequent promotion will be by selection.

Directors of Legal Services (RAF)

The head of the RAF Legal Branch is titled the Director of Legal Services RAF. The current holder is Air Vice Marshal T N Jennings. * Air Commodore John Bankes Walmsley (1950 - 1957) * Air Commodore Marshall William Palmer (1957 - 1961) * Air Vice-Marshal John Ernest Allen-Jones (1961 - 1970) * Air Vice-Marshal Aubrey Sidney-Wilmot (1970 - 1978) * Air Vice-Marshal

Peter Furniss Air Vice-Marshal Peter Furniss, DFC (16 July 191911 December 2005) was a British solicitor and senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Director of Legal Services (RAF) and head of the RAF Legal Branch from 1978 to 1982. Early life Furnis ...

(December 1978 to April 1982) * Air Vice-Marshal Graham Neil Forman (1982 - 1989) * Air Vice-Marshal Reginald Thomas Dawson (1989 - 1992) * Air Vice-Marshal Geoffrey W Carleton (1993 - 1997) * Air Vice-Marshal John Weeden (1997 - 2002) * Air Vice-Marshal Richard Anthony Charles (2002 - 2009) * Air Vice Marshal Lindsay J Irvine (April 2009 to April 2017) * Air Vice Marshal

Alison Mardell Air Vice-Marshal Alison Mardell (born 23 September 1968) is a British solicitor and retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. From 2017 to 2019, she has served as Director of Legal Services (RAF) and head of the RAF Legal Branch. Early life and e ...

(April 2017 to 29 September 2018) * Air Vice Marshal

Tamara Jennings Air Vice-Marshal Tamara Nancy Jennings, (born in 1973) is a British solicitor and senior Royal Air Force officer. Since September 2018, she has served as Director of Legal Services and head of the RAF Legal Branch. Early life Jennings was born ...

(29 September 2018 to present)

Deputy Directors

* Air Commodore Lindsay Irvine (2002 to April 2009) * Air Commodore William H Boothby (April 2009 to July 2011) * Air Commodore S J Kell (July 2011 to July 2014) * Air Commodore Alison Mardell (2014 to 2017) * Air Commodore T N Jennings (2017 to 2018) * Air Commodore K J Sanders (2018 to present)

References

External links

Home page of the RAF Legal Branch
{{Royal Air Force Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1948 Organisations based in Buckinghamshire United Kingdom military law

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...