McNeill to step down as Chief Legal Officer at Norfolk County Council

Victoria McNeill, Chief Legal Officer at Norfolk County Council, is to leave after more than a decade with the local authority.

Wendy Thomson, Managing Director at Norfolk, said that from 5 June McNeill would be reducing her hours with the view of stepping down in the longer term.

“Victoria has agreed to help us as we search for and hand over to a new Chief Legal Officer (CLO). I am grateful to Victoria for agreeing to stay with us through the transition to someone new,” Thomson said.

She added: “After over ten years as the county council’s monitoring officer, including seven at the helm of nplaw, Victoria’s legal experience and expertise have been a great asset to the council and I know she will be missed by members and officers alike.”

In December last year Norfork created the post of CLO as part of a wider restructuring of its corporate strategy, support and finance functions.

The move came after the authority’s Policy & Resources Committee had separately backed plans for nplaw, the shared legal service based at the county, to establish an alternative business structure.

Prior to the changes, McNeill held the dual roles of Head of Law and Monitoring Officer at the county council and Practice Director of nplaw.