Birmingham City Council announces new Director of Legal

Janie Berry, York City Council's current Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer, has been appointed to the role of City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer at Birmingham City Council starting in September.

Berry, who was first admitted as a solicitor in 2003, has spent the previous three years at City of York Council. Before York, she was Director of Legal Services at Derbyshire County Council.

She will join Birmingham from the 12th of September of this year, replacing the council's interim City Solicitor, Satinder Sahota.

According to the job advertisement, the new City Solicitor will be joining the council at a "critical but also exciting time" thanks to the social and economic impact of Covid-19.

The advertisement added that the council – considered Europe's largest local authority – offers opportunities for legal professionals with a "passion for problem solving" of a "scale and complexity, unlike any other UK City".

Berry told Local Government Lawyer that she is looking forward to joining the authority.

Adam Carey