Local authority solicitors pool advocacy services

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY: other councils advised to join forces

Local government solicitors in Essex have cut costs and promoted efficiency in their advocacy services by pooling their skills - and are now urging other in-house legal departments to do the same.

The call came after six in-house legal teams in the county formed an advocacy unit aimed at achieving more consistent court coverage after being approached by Essex County Council, which set up its advocacy team in 1998 to reduce the costs of using external counsel.

Now legal departments in Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford, Maldon and Uttlesford have signed up to the partnership, with other councils around the country also looking to follow in their footsteps.

Phillip Thomson, head of legal at Essex, said local authorities had traditionally only worked together to sell surplus services for one-off cases.

'Now we are using this as a pilot to see how we can all work together' he explained.

'We are working like an in-house chambers.

If a case comes up, you pick up the phone and ask if someone can take it, send through the papers and relevant details, and off goes the advocate to do the job.'

Nigel Roberts, chairman of the Law Society's Local Government Group, said in-house teams often struggle to provide a decent level of service at a competitive cost, while maintaining expertise to deal with a diverse workload.

'Anything that involves districts pooling resources and expertise is irresistible', he said.

Paula Rohan