b'24 Local Government LawyerThe best of times, the worst of timesLocal government lawyers are in demand like never before, but this creates many additional pressures on legal teams. To try to find some solutions to the issues identified by the survey, Local Government Lawyer convened some of the countrys most experienced local government lawyers to a roundtable session, held at the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Derek Bedlow reports.Topics discussed included the pros and consLegal Officer at Hertfordshire told theare not in a position to offer trainees a full-of shared services, alternative businesssession. There are not enough paralegals;time position on completion of their training structures (ABS), external law firms andnot enough focus on trainees. Its not justcontracts.the potential effect of AI on local authoritythat theyre very good value for money butIn the graduate recruitment market, the legal practice. But the main talking point ofalso because we need to do something totrainee retention rate (typically 80% -90%) the day, was the one that topped the listtry and tackle recruitment shortage andis a key metric for prospective trainees and of management concerns in the survey growing our own is one of the more positiveone in which local authorities will compare recruitment and retention. things that we can do. unfavourably. Moreover, it can mean that In the survey (see The ProductivityWith the number of law students relativelocal authorities risk taking on trainees that Puzzle, p4), 70% of heads of legal includedto the number of training contracts availabledo not have a long-term commitment to the recruitment and retention within their topat record levels (18,850 UK students startedsector and disappear to the private sector three challenges, more than any otherlaw degrees in 2018 alone, according to theonce qualification is achieved.factor. We are struggling to recruit acrossLaw Society, compared with 5,719 trainingHB Public Law, the shared legal service of the board, in all disciplines, said onecontracts), those authorities that havethe London Boroughs of Harrow and Barnet, delegate.advertised for trainees report very strongis one legal department that has grasped the So what can local authorities do toresponses, both in terms of quality andnettle of trainee recruitment, and now offers address the problem? The current situationquantity. five training contracts a year. According to has come about through the combinationLocal government does face a coupleits head of legal, Jessica Farmer, of the past of a substantial and ongoing spike inof challenges when looking for the best10 that have qualified, eight remained with legal work, a real-terms pay cut followingprospects however. Firstly, the largerHB Public Law.austerity and the low number of trainingcommercial law firms invest large amountsWe found that growing our own has contracts offered by local authorities overof money in marketing themselves toreally helped us with recruitment, she said. the past 20 years. students and are generally much moreWe were thinking to ourselves that we I think that our structures are oftenvisible to prospective candidates. Secondly,should have done this years ago.slightly top-heavy, Quentin Baker, the Chiefunlike most law firms, many local authoritiesHB does not budget at the start of a'