Cardiff and East Midlands law firm Geldards has teamed up with Kent County Council (KCC) to offer ‘budget’ legal services to the public sector across England and Wales.

The two organisations have formed Law:Public, a public sector legal team of more than 100 lawyers, in what is understood to be a unique collaboration.

Law:Public comprises 80 lawyers from KCC, and more than 20 from Geldards.

Geldards currently acts for a number of central and local government bodies in England and Wales. KCC’s legal department already provides legal advice to more than 200 bodies across the public sector in London, the south-east and north-west of England, as well as acting for KCC itself. The joint service is now to be extended to all public authorities across the region.

Geldard’s chairman David Williams said Law:Public was an affordable resource for ‘over-stretched’ councils faced with shrinking budgets. ‘We are aiming at a maximum hourly rate of £150, based on the average of our rates and KCC’s.’

KCC director of law and governance Geoff Wild said that the KCC legal team follows a business model that has seen the department grow from 20 to 80 lawyers in 10 years. ‘We operate on a zero budget basis, with no subsidy from KCC or other safety net. Our lawyers have fee targets, like they would in private practice. We pay our own way by delivering business efficiencies.’