The Southampton and Fareham Legal Services Partnership has been named Local Government Legal Team of the Year at the LLG Legal Awards for 2018.
Seven local authority legal teams had been in the running. The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham were highly commended in the category, while Milton Keynes Council Legal Services were commended.
Commenting on the choice of Southampton and Fareham Legal Services Partnership, the judges for this award said: “The team takes a whole service approach to supporting clients amply evidenced by a range of testimonials. The team has worked on several very innovative and hugely beneficial community impact projects, together with significant case law proceedings. This team is hugely deserving of the LLG Local Government Legal Team of the Year 2018.”
Jayne Francis Ward, recently retired from Nottinghamshire County Council, won the Significant Contribution to Local Government Law & Practice, while Paige Ferris-Bedward of Milton Keynes Council was named Junior Lawyer of the Year.
The other winners were:
- Local Government Legal Professional of the Year: Gary Dalton, Warwickshire County Council
- Governance Lawyer/Team of the Year: Emma Duncan, eastlaw, North Norfolk District Council
- Litigation Lawyer/Team of the Year: Kate Hiller, Warwickshire County Council
- People Related Lawyer/Team of the Year: The Education Team, City and County of Swansea
- Public/Private Partnership Lawyer/Team of the Year: The Procurement & Governance Team, Milton Keynes Council
A number of other nominees were either highly commended or commended. They were:
- Governance Lawyer/Team of the Year: The Governance Team, City of Wolverhampton Council, Highly Commended
- Litigation Lawyer/Team of the Year: Southampton and Fareham Legal Services Partnership, Commended
- Litigation Lawyer/Team of the Year: Milton Keynes Council, Commended
- People Related Lawyer/Team of the Year: Warwickshire County Council Young People’s Legal Service, Highly Commended
- People Related Lawyer/Team of the Year: West Midlands Combined Authority Legal Team, Highly Commended
- Public/Private Partnership Lawyer/Team of the Year: Gedling Borough Council, Highly Commended
- Significant Contribution to Local Government Law & Practice: Dr Paul Field, London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Highly Commended
- Junior Lawyer of the Year, Nicola Morgan, Blackpool Borough Council, Highly Commended.
- Local Government Legal Professional of the Year: Meurig Tiley of Milton Keynes Council, Highly Commended.
The awards ceremony was held at The Waldorf in London on Friday and hosted by BBC journalist Clive Myrie.