The last time you wrote an essay may well have been at law school, but if you want a role at the UK’s a top court – and £213,125 per year – then you will need to get the creative juices flowing again.

An advertisement appears in the Guardian and Times newspapers (but not in the FT's executive appointments) today for three vacancies at the UK Supreme Court.

The vacancies arise with the departure of the court’s president Lord Neuberger and judges Toulson and Clarke.

Applicants will have to write a 2,000-word essay, on a topic yet to be agreed, that they will then be questioned on.

The court, currently made up of 10 white men and one white woman, has pledged to tackle increase its diversity.

Last year, in a speech at Inner Temple, Neuberger set out new measures to make sure that as ‘wide a range of candidates as possible’ are considered to fill the vacancies.

These include a ‘familiarisation’ scheme to attract candidates thinking of applying and the possibility of judges working flexibly or part-time.

There will also be an ‘equal merit’ test and a range of outreach exercises to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds.

The court has also introduced a ‘tipping-point’ scheme when assessing applicants. If two applicants are of equal merit, priority will be given to a female or ethnic minority applicant.

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