b'Local Government Lawyer 41of establishing a strong co-partneringare guaranteed, with stringent processeshave implemented such measures with a relationship with private practice law firms.built into service delivery to ensure output iscentral government body for over two years. It is acknowledged that there hasaligned with client needs.Benefitting from co-sourcings best practice historically been a general reluctanceImportantly, provision is made toprocesses, the ease of which instructions for local government to externalise legalsafeguard knowledge, with all learningcan be made ensures at all times our client work (either in part or its entirety) tocaptured, shared and retained all the whilecan focus its own resource where it is most private practice. The main concerns areencouraging the up-skilling of in-houseneeded. often cited as loss of knowledge andteams.Our experience in co-sourcing in local missed opportunities to up-skill in-houseUltimately, a true collaboration betweengovernment has been that it enables and teams, unease about internal governancelawyer and client is developed.strengthens the in-house team, whether it is procedures not being properly adheredby providing additional resources to support to, and an overall loss of ownership over aKey features: on day-to-day matters or to provide support project or internal relationship. A suite of best practice processes forfor those specialist areas of law (such as tax, However, it is accepted that localend-to-end service covering conflict,banking or renewable energy) which any government legal departments are unablescope, risk, delivery, lessons learnedin-house team may not routinely provide. to service all of their needs by themselves.and management informationCo-sourcing can flex with the requirements The main drivers for reaching out to privateA true co-sourcing relationshipof in-house teams by working closely practice for support are most commonlyA pro-active, open approach towith them and understanding what their capacity issues and lack of expertise inclient feedbackparticular challenges are.specialist, complex areas.Legal services to cover a range of scenariosConclusionA flexible alternativeCapture and transfer of knowledgeAlternative models of service delivery are Co-sourcing is a flexible resourcing toolto empower client teams fast becoming the new normal for local designed to counter these concerns by theAccess to niche area specialistsgovernment. The overwhelming benefit of public sector; it was specifically designedwhen requiredthe co-sourcing route is that it allows the for and developed in conjunction with localin-house legal team to remain a dedicated government. Quite simply, it is the provisionCo-sourcing in practice resource but also provides the flexibility of high quality, additional legal resourceCase study 1: we have a co-sourcingneeded to manage a varied and fluctuating which supports in-house teams by deliveringarrangement in place with a London localcaseload. the right level of resource at the right time.authority where we regularly work with and When applied, it allows for the deliverysit alongside the in-house team. Working inBill Hull is a partner and Joint Head of of swift, flexible resource; providingthis manner allows documents to be sharedPublic Sector at TLT. He can be contacted collaboration with a team that trulyand stored on the in-house system and areon +44 (0)333 006 0321 or by email at bill.understands local government and theaccessible to all who require them whenhull@TLTSolicitors.comchallenges faced on a day-to-day basis, whilethey are needed. It ensures a core team are building resilience within client teams.on hand to support when workflows areTLT is a top 50 full service UK law firm. Underpinning the co-sourcing model ishigh. This helped recently when there wasActive in the public sector for over 20 the inherent ability for the client to retaina delay in the authority replacing in-houseyears with a proven history of helping control of the instruction at all times andteam members who had departed.local government achieve efficiencies and for private practice lawyers to seamlesslyCase study 2: whilst designed for localunlock investment, building genuine sector become an extension of the client team. Itgovernment, co-sourcing is capable ofexpertise across the full range of legal has evolved to ensure that quality and costsapplication across the public sector. Weservices.'