FT shortlists Kent's Wild for two innovation awards

The two categories are:

• Legal Industry Pioneers: this looks at how legal services providers are responding to the opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act in the UK and changes in other jurisdictions.
• Legal Innovator of the Year: this is intended to identify the top 10 lawyers who emerge through research as genuine innovators on either a technical or operational basis. In this category a panel of judges will decide the winner.

In April this year, Kent Legal Services adopted a revised strategy aimed at delivering £1m in savings for the county council over the next 12 months and becoming in time a regional hub for the South East.

The process – dubbed Evolution – is also expected to see the launch later this year of an alternative business structure with law firm Geldards.

Other initiatives include the development of an intelligent relationship model with external clients, the introduction of a new case management system and changes to the team’s staffing profile.

The ultimate target is to deliver £3m in savings to Kent by 2014.

Wild told Local Government Lawyer that he was delighted to be on the 2012 shortlist.

“All I know is that the FT have thought fit to put me forward for these two awards,” he said, adding that he had not applied for them.

Wild was previously shortlisted for an FT award in 2007.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 4 October.