In-House Counsel (United Kingdom)

$150–160/hrrate as listed

Mercor is recruiting UK in-house counsel to run identical legal prompts through two AI platforms and score the outputs against a standardized rubric. The initial engagement is roughly 10 hours at an observed $150–160/hr, with scope to continue if the benchmark expands.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.

The work

This is comparative benchmarking, not content writing. You receive a set of prompts covering realistic UK legal questions — most weighted toward commercial and contract matters — and run each one through two separate LLM platforms. You then read both answers closely, decide where each one is correct, incomplete, or confidently wrong, and score them against a rubric the client supplies. Every evaluation ends with a short written justification: what the model got right, what it missed, and what a client would have been misled about if they had relied on the answer.

The hard part is calibration. A response that cites the right statute but misstates its application is not the same failure as one that invents authority, and the rubric expects you to distinguish them consistently across dozens of items. Reviewers who do well here treat the rubric as binding rather than advisory, and write feedback that another lawyer could audit.

What the screen looks for

Verifiable UK in-house experience — five or more years advising a business from inside it, with specifics on sectors, deal types, and the kinds of questions that actually crossed your desk.
Depth under follow-up — the AI interviewer will push past your first answer on commercial and contract points, so surface-level familiarity tends to show quickly.
Evaluation judgment — how you reason about a plausible-sounding but flawed answer, and whether you can separate style from substance.
Precision in written English — your feedback is the deliverable; ambiguous prose is a real disqualifier.

Logistics

Fully remote and asynchronous. The initial commitment is around 10 hours, and Mercor has indicated strong potential for additional volume if the benchmark continues. All work is covered by NDA. Pay is stated by the platform as USD 150–160 per hour — observed for this listing, not a guarantee, and final rates depend on the platform's own assessment. Work is done on your own schedule against submission deadlines rather than fixed hours.

What they look for

5+ years as in-house legal counsel practising in the United Kingdom
Strong command of UK commercial and contract law
Precise written English and detailed evaluative feedback
Ability to apply a standardized scoring rubric consistently
Independent, deadline-driven remote work

Before you apply

Would you pass this screen?

Drawn from what this listing actually requires. Answered in your browser — nothing is sent to us, and we do not store your answers.

Have you worked as in-house legal counsel (employed by a single company, not as an external solicitor or barrister) for a cumulative total of at least 5 years, with the majority of that time advising on UK law?
5+ years in-house counsel, UK · required
Have you provided legal advice on commercial contracts (e.g. sale of goods, service agreements, licensing, M&A, employment terms, indemnities) under UK law within the past 2 years, or as a core part of your in-house role?
Practising UK commercial/contract law currently or within 2 years · required
Are you legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom, or do you hold a UK security clearance (SC or above)?
Right to work in UK or hold UK security clearance · preferred
Is English your working language, and do you write legal documents or advice in English as part of your current or recent role?
Fluent written English · required

0 of 4 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 10 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: Confirms genuine practising experience with UK commercial law and ability to articulate legal reasoning clearly; tests whether they can isolate a discrete legal problem and explain it without jargon fog.
A strong answer: The candidate describes a specific, named matter (merger clause dispute, indemnity scope, termination rights, etc.), identifies the precise legal question at stake, and traces their reasoning to relevant statute, case law, or common law principles—showing they actively solve problems rather than just implement precedent.
Where people lose it: Vague recitation of 'handled contracts' without a real problem; hiding behind 'it depends on the facts' without committing to the logic they used; describing only procedural steps ("we sent it to opposing counsel") rather than the legal judgment itself.