b'Local Government Lawyer 9training, inducting staff, face to face meetings etc. What the survey said on training:It is evident in the survey responses that as lawyers have become more acquainted withThe good remote working, their support for it as the normal working practice has cemented. WhatTraining was difficult to begin with as I was taking on new areas of law. That said, once I got to was an experiment in March 2020 is nowgrips with all the resources available, it was much better. I would have preferred regular virtual the assumed default working practice. Localcalls from my supervisor to check whether I had questions or just to talk through some of the government lawyers expect their authoritycases and what I am doing. I also found it harder to get an idea of how the council is structured to offer remote working packages, andor how many colleagues I had as I couldnt meet anyone. My manager arranged virtual calls/management looks set to meet most of thosemeetings with different teams to introduce me and for them to explain what they do, this was expectations. very useful.Courting talent My local authority introduced council-wide online initiatives for training.Now that lawyers consider remote working provision an essential part of a jobs benefitsThe badpackage, what effect has this sea-change had on the job market? Managing trainees and less experienced new recruits and helping them get up to speed is more Heads of Legal from different councilsdifficult when working remotely.report a mixed bag regarding the impact of remote working on staff retention. CouncilsThe team lose out on experience of other members that can be quickly sought when in the office that have committed to remote working havebut is harder by phone or email.been able to recruit from further afield and bypass regional skills shortages, while councilsThe uglythat are reticent report struggles in keeping talent. Regardless, it appears that lawyersJunior team members achieve greater training and exposure when working in a collegiate have benefitted from the shift to remotefashion, with the ability to better collaborate and shadow more experienced staff which is more working all around. difficult to achieve with remote working. (management)The availability of remote working has certainly invigorated the recruitment market.Specific technical training such as case management systems were difficult. I had just one day in One-fifth (21%) of all lawyers surveyed havethe office for all training.joined a new council legal team during the Covid-19 crisis, according to the survey, and differences in remote working policiessuccessful. London councils paid 4,000 per between councils have played a large role inOne-fifth (21%) of all lawyersannum more than Yorkshire based councils, the level of movement. according to Local Government Lawyers Data from Public Law Jobs, the recruitmentsurveyed have joined a newRecruitment Market Report 2021.site to Local Government Lawyer, alsoIn such cases, the benefits have not only suggests an unusually high rate of movementcouncil legal team during thebeen enjoyed by the employee. For example, in 2021. The number of local governmentHeads of Legal have reported they managed qualified solicitor and above roles advertisedCovid-19 crisis. to evade local skills shortages by hiring on the job site in 2021 almost doubled whenremotely. compared to the previous year. Three hundredOne respondent who considered remoteEvery head of legal surveyed said they and eighty-eight positions were listed inworking essential when taking a new role,would consider employing someone remotely 2020, compared to 600 in 2021, a 43% rise. Insaid: [Remote working] has transformedwho lives a significant distance from their 2019, pre-pandemic, just 438 positions weremy working life and made it possible for meauthority. Just over half (53%) said they advertised. to balance a disabled child and working fullwould consider employing someone who lives Numerous respondents said that promisingtime, which would have been impossible hadfurther afield for some roles, and a further remote working was essential in attracting andremote work not existed. Previously I have30% said they would hire such a person for retaining talent. [The main] change is thatonly ever been able to work part time. most roles. The remaining 16% said yes, staff are becoming more transactional in whoOf course money is also a big incentive tobut only if they are unable to find a local they work for - e.g. if they can work anywhere,moving. In regions where pay is lower thancandidate (Table 10).why should they work for us, one head ofthe national average, lawyers are able toSome Heads of Legal are still enthusiastic legal responded. seek work further afield, leading to councilsabout hiring long-distance employees, even But moving to a council with a morein higher-paying areas hiring lawyers livingafter having bad experiences hiring someone developed remote working policy is not justin lower-paying areas. A head of legal said:outside of commutable distance.about avoiding the commute, as some mightOne of our Housing Lawyers lives in Hull.We have had a locum solicitor who think. Some lawyers who have childcareWe are a London Local Authority. It wasworked entirely remotely as she lived a commitments say they would be forced tonecessary to employ her as at the time theresignificant distance away, one head of legal work part-time if not for remote working. were no Housing Lawyers available. It is veryexplained. Sadly, this was not a successful'