Lawyers in Local Government unveils shortlists for inaugural awards

October 6, 2014

Five councils have been shortlisted for ‘Legal Team of the Year’ in the inaugural Lawyers in Local Government awards to be held next month, it has been announced.

The departments shortlisted for the category are:

Buckinghamshire County Council;
Eastlaw – North Norfolk;
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham;
London Borough of Enfield;
Suffolk County Council.

Four people have shortlisted for ‘Local Government Lawyer of the Year’: Melanie O’Sullivan (Basingstoke & Deane); Alison Stuart (Barking and Dagenham); John Oakley (Enfield); and Barry Juckes (Warwickshire).

Gurbinder Sangha (Herefordshire), Paula Harvey (Enfield) and Chloe Karamian (Slough) are meanwhile in the running for the ‘Junior Lawyer of the Year’ award.

The shortlists for the practice categories are as follows:

Adult Social Care & Health

Buckinghamshire County Council;
Essex County Council;
Warwickshire County Council.

Children’s Services and Education

Brighton & Hove Council;
Essex County Council;
Kent County Council;
One Source – London Boroughs of Newham and Havering.

Employment

Essex County Council;
Lancashire County Council;
Warwickshire County Council.

Information Management

Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council;
Buckinghamshire County Council;
Eastlaw – North Norfolk;
London Borough of Islington;
North Yorkshire County Council.

Litigation and Licensing

London Borough of Southwark;
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority;
One Source – London Borough of Newham and Havering.

Monitoring Officers and Governance

Cheshire Constabulary;
London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Partnership & Procurement/Commercial

Buckinghamshire County Council;
Norfolk County Council;
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

Planning, Highways & Environment

Buckinghamshire County Council;
London Borough of Southwark;
Norfolk County Council;
Suffolk County Council.

LLG President Philip Thomson said: “LLG is delighted to announce the shortlisted candidates for its inaugural awards to be held at London’s prestigious Rosewood Hotel on 29 November 2014. It has been extremely heartening to see evidence of so much hard work, innovation and creativity.

“This is a very exciting time for LLG and the Awards Ceremony is an ideal opportunity to recognise the dedication, knowledge and expertise of LLG lawyers across the land.”

Thomson added: “All the entries have been of a very high quality, making the task of judging panels extremely difficult. The judges commented that all entries demonstrate the hard work and commitment given for the benefit of the public and I would like to add my personal thanks to all who submitted entries for the time and effort taken on top of what I know are extremely busy working lives. You are each a credit to your authorities, the public and to LLG.”

Tickets for the ceremony at the Rosewood Hotel cost £60.