Beryl Heath to step down from position at North West Legal Consortium for retirement
Local government lawyer Beryl Heath is stepping down from her role as consortium development manager at the North West Legal Consortium (NWLC) after a 14-year tenure at the organisation.
Speaking to Local Government Lawyer about her retirement, Heath said she had seen the consortium "come into its own" in her time amid growing workload pressures on local government legal departments.
Heath practiced in local government legal departments for almost four decades before joining the consortium in 2009.
She completed her training in the 1980s at Trafford Council and spent the entirety of her full-time legal career in local government.
She was head of legal at Knowsley Council before taking on the management role at the consortium. However, she continued to consult up until late 2017.
Commenting on her role at NWLC, she said: "It's been challenging at times, but it's amazing how professional everybody is and how many ideas there are out there about how we can improve and deliver for them."
On the challenges, she noted that: "We don't have a lot of funding and we're run by our members for our members, whose interest is obviously in getting everything as cost-effective as possible, particularly for the annual conferences where I've been seeking speakers for free and I've been asking for free training sessions."
She also noted that she had seen the variety of demands upon local government lawyers increase "massively," such that lawyers are having to develop new skills and take on new areas of work.
In this respect, she said the consortium had "come into its own", offering its member organisations cost-effective support for special projects and work that has been out of the ordinary and innovative.
The consortium currently serves 42 member organisations and provides a range of additional services, including training.
Members can access advice from a framework of 14 solicitors firms and receive representation from a barristers portal.
In addition, the consortium offers 16 free training sessions a year as part of its annual programme, which also includes an annual in-person conference, which Heath helmed.
The NWLC is currently seeking applications to provide a support service to the consortium. Applicants have until 5 June to apply.
Commenting on Heath's departure, Anne Greenwood, Chair of the NWLC Management Board, said: "The fantastic contribution that Beryl has made to the consortium since its inception cannot be overstated. Beryl has played a key role in developing the many benefits offered to Consortium members and has been pivotal to the success of the consortium."
Greenwood added: "Beryl has worked tirelessly on behalf of member organisations. It has been a pleasure to work with Beryl and I know that she will be much missed not only by the Consortium Board and member organisations but by the partner firms who have worked with her over the years."
Adam Carey