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LocalGovernmentLawyer The Legal Department of the Future February 2016 3 Worst of times best of times There is a large council in the North of England which in its Revenue Budget for 201516 predicted that its Legal and Democratic Services would overspend by some 1.958m. It blamed the bulk of this overspend on staff agency costs and legal fees resulting from continuing increases in child protection cases. This may be an extreme example but it puts into sharp relief the pressures on many legal teams. Against this backdrop the Legal Department of the Future project was designed to examine the challenges that local authority departments face and to find out how the sector is responding. So how might the legal services sector look the next time we conduct this research You can read the results and analysis of the management and careers surveys throughout this publication but here are some predictions based on what we have learned The number of shared legal services whether fully integrated or loosely affiliated will have expanded further. The largest and most integrated shared legal services will be larger still. A handful will have joined Birminghams team in employing more than 150 legally- qualified staff and having a turnover of several million pounds. There will be more local authority-owned alternative business structures ABSs particularly if teams are required to use an ABS to deliver legal services to other public bodies outside their area. This is currently the view of the SRA but its interpretation is hotly disputed and it may take a trip to the courts to resolve. Some departments and not just the largest will see their commitment to deriving external income pay off. Others will falter as they struggle with the requisite investment not just in money to bring in clients and deliver the expected quality of service. Being price competitive is an advantage but not the only differentiator. The better-resourced departments will harness technology such as workflow management tools to deliver a more efficient service. Others will fail to make proper use of what is on offer. The experience and age profile of legal teams will have evolved bringing opportunities for more junior staff. The flipside will be that ambitious senior lawyers seeking to develop their careers within local government will continue to feel thwarted. Unless more senior non-management specialist roles can be created the loss of talent will continue and recruitment will become harder still. Many departments are already trying to adopt a range of innovative approaches in a bid to meet the challenges they face. Is your team one of them Philip Hoult is Editor of Local Government Lawyer and Public Law Today. Contents Bridging the gap p3 The Legal Department of the Future survey reveals that local government legal teams are employing a range of strategies as they face up to a challenging combination of increased workloads and severe pressure on resources. Philip Hoult reports. The way ahead p16 Our research highlights some serious challenges for legal departments their staff and clients. Local Government Lawyer convened a roundtable of leading legal services management to identify how some of these issues can be addressed. Derek Bedlow reports. A short guide to shared legal services p23 The LexisPSL Local Government team explain the background to and advantages and disadvantages of shared legal services in achieving improved cost efficiency within the public sector. Improving internal efficiency p26 The LexisPSL Local Government team provide a checklist for a continuous improvement model in the context of contemplating the delivery of shared legal services. Dancing with the devil p28 Tanya Corsie of IKEN Business explains why and how you should be using technology to improve your service. Lead or follow p30 The number of in-house counsel in the private sector has boomed as the general counsel role has grown in importance. Paul Cummins looks at the lessons for local government lawyers. Up for the challenge p32 With the local government sector under huge pressure legal departments are being tested to the limit. Helen Edwards of Kennedy Cater analyses how they are responding. Cant get no satisfaction p36 What effect have the cuts had on local government lawyers ambitions and morale Derek Bedlow outlines the results of our exclusive survey of more than 300 local government lawyers and assesses the implications for local authority legal teams. The shape of things to come p43 Derek Bedlow looks at how legal departments can organise recruit and retain their staff. Local Government Lawyer www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk Editor Philip Hoult philip.houltlocalgovernmentlawyer.co.uk Publisher Derek Bedlow derek.bedlowlocalgovernmentlawyer.co.uk Advertising Richard Worth richardlocalgovernmentlawyer.co.uk 01625 363 045