Forrester-Brown takes over as President of Lawyers in Local Government

Doreen Forrester-Brown, Director of Law and Democracy at the London Borough of Southwark, has become President of Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) for 2016/17.

She succeeded Bev Cullen at LLG’s annual general meeting, which was held on Saturday (9 April) at the Weekend School at the University of Warwick.

Phillip Horsfield, Director of Legal & Planning at Broxtowe Borough Council, stepped up to the role of Vice President, while Suki Binjal, Interim Head of Law and Governance at Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils, was appointed Deputy Vice-President.

Binjal won LLG’s first contested election, securing the DVP post ahead of Hugh Peart, Director of Governance and Legal Services at Harrow Council.

Nigel Snape, Head of Legal Services at Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Services, was re-elected as the organisation’s treasurer.

Forrester-Brown told delegates: “In terms of taking this role [as president] forward, I very much see myself as a gatekeeper for a year and it is a very short period of time, but in that time what I will seek to do is to continue to champion LLG, to make sure that we are proactive, there for our members and pursuing the interests of our members.”

She said it was important that LLG’s governance was reviewed. “We are a new organisation but I think we have learned over the last three years that there are issues around our governance that do need to be tweaked a bit.”

The governance review, on which Forrester-Brown will work with Horsfield, will involve more publication of LLG’s minutes and board meetings on the organisation’s website, and consideration of how the board consults with LLG’s members.

Forrester-Brown said it was also important that the LLG board reflected the diversity of the communities served by local government lawyers. “I certainly want any member … to feel that they could one day be sitting here in this role as president and there should be no bar to them being able to do that. I will tirelessly campaign for the organisation to be fair, open and transparent for all its members.”

The new president added that she would champion the role of the organisation’s special activity areas (SAAs), which were doing “sterling and important work”, and continue the organisation’s dialogue with its corporate partners.

She meanwhile urged members to be involved at a branch level and to get to know and support those individuals who were SAA leads.

Forrester-Brown also paid tribute to her predecessor’s year as president, saying Cullen had worked extremely hard in continuing to champion and develop LLG both nationally and at branch level.