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The Legal Department of the Future February 2016 LocalGovernmentLawyer10 from neighbouring authorities. Whether that would still be the case now if the process were gone through again is an interesting question. For some the potential for a shared legal service has suffered because it evokes issues over the countydistrict divide whether current or historic. Another challenge highlighted by some respondents arises where potential partner authorities have different political persuasions though this issue did not prevent the establishment of HB Public Law out of the legal teams at Harrow traditionally a Labour council and Barnet Conservative. In Wales the continued uncertainty about local government re-organisation the Welsh Government initially proposed reducing the number of councils from 22 to eight or nine has led to the adoption of a wait and see approach reports one respondent. The survey meanwhile found that a significant minority of rank and file lawyers also remain to be convinced that shared services are right for them. Some 28 say they would be less likely to apply for a job in one with fewer than one in ten 7 suggesting that they would be more likely to apply. The main perceived disadvantage of working in a shared service is seen to be location the prospect of having to move to a less attractive working environment. This was followed by a more distant relationship with clients and the home authority pay and manageability of the workload. The pluses by contrast were seen to be the potential offer of good quality varied work and the training and career development opportunities. Pursuing alternatives The fourth and fifth strategic options covered by the survey setting up an alternative business structure ABS and selling legal services to other public bodies are worth considering together for reasons that will become clear. Interest in ABSs at the time of the 2013 survey was considerable but so far only HB Public Law Buckinghamshire Law Plus and LGSS Law have obtained licences from the Solicitors Regulation Authority although Essexs Cabinet recently approved Essex Legal Services plans to apply for one. In this survey just 4 of respondents say their departments have set up an ABS or are about to apply or in the process of applying to the SRA. A further 21 say it is under serious consideration while 25 may look at it in the medium term. The comment of one head of legal that he would prefer to see how successful others are first is a common response. More than half of those surveyed 54 reject the idea. Is it simply the latest fad asks one respondent while another describes it as flavour of the month and says they do not consider it presently to put us in a more favourable position from a business point of view. Another suggests that for a small team it has no benefit at this time. Interest in ABSs may well have been stirred however by recent comments from a senior SRA official to the effect that in the regulators view local authorities selling legal services to other public bodies beyond their immediate area are required by the Legal Services Act 2007 to do so through an authorised entity. Local authorities are not authorised entities so their legal teams would according to the SRA have to set up an ABS if they want to trade further afield. These comments came as something of a bolt from the blue to those authorities which have hitherto relied on Rule 4.15 of the SRA Handbook and empowerment statutes such as the Local Authorities Goods and Services Act 1970 to trade more widely. Fig 7