Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) is the professional membership body representing, promoting and supporting the interests of local government legal or governance officers working within a local authority. This includes Monitoring Officers and their deputies, solicitors, barristers, legal executives, licenced conveyancers and trainees.
Offering a unique range of membership benefits and an exceptional programme of high-quality training events aimed at the local government legal practitioner, LLG is an essential resource for those working in the public sector.
LLG actively influences the local government sector with a range of campaigns designed to build best practice in leadership, succession planning for the future of the profession, and sustainability within our communities. Offering technical guidance and expertise on forthcoming legislation and policy, we collaborate with other important stakeholders within the sector to get the best outcome.
Currently our members include:
4,304 solicitors registered as working in local government
Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) was formed in April 2013 by the merger of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS) and Solicitors in Local Government (SLG).
LLG operates six Regions in England and Wales, enabling local networking and peer support.
Additionally, LLG has established several national groups, covering the following areas of legal activity:
The national groups are intended to provide a focus of professional expertise for each area with a view to developing networking, training and best practice and contributing to development of the area of law.
National Graduate Recruitment Scheme
The National Graduate Recruitment Scheme is designed to help members recruit "the best and the brightest" and build talent to ensure that the sector is effective in succession planning.
Recognising the difficultly in recruiting strong, suitable candidates, the LLG National Graduate Recruitment Scheme aims to rejuvenate the profession, attracting exceptional candidates and enabling the recruitment of lawyers who share the values of local authorities.
LLG runs an annual national work experience week every July to allow local authorities and graduates with shared values to get together both in a remote and physical space to encourage them to pursue a career in law in local government as their first choice.
With over 50 students placed with local authorities each year, work experience week is going from strength to strength.
The Golden Triangle
The Golden triangle is the trio if statutory officers at the top of a local authority – the Head of Paid Service (typically the CEO), The s151 officer (typically the CFO or Director of Finance) and the Monitoring Officer (typically the Director of Legal / Head of Legal / Director of Governance). Collaborating with SOLACE and CIPFA, we strive for best practice in this relationship, campaigning for strong standards of conduct and behaviour; promoting the advantages of monitoring officers being legally qualified and having access to the top table.
Exit Payment Cap Judicial review
The introduction in 2020 at short notice of a cap on exit payments for those departing local authorities had a deleterious impact on pension entitlements. Our joint application with the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE) argued that the cap came into effect before consultation on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) was completed and that it conflicts with the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, thereby infringing workers' human rights.
The legal challenge was successful, with the revocation of the Exit Cap Payment Regulations. We keep a close eye on future developments.
Virtual Meetings
LLG, in partnership with ADSO and Hertfordshire County Council, called for the ability of English councils to hold and make decisions in remote meetings to be made permanent, with the benefits including reduced travel to meetings, cost savings, increased participation in the democratic process and equality of access to meetings.
Unfortunately, the judicial review challenge was dismissed by the High Court, although it galvanised opinion across the sector in favour of remote attendance as an option.
LLG, working closely with the ADSO, continues to campaign for the ability of local authorities to have the choice to make its decisions in remote meetings.
As part of the wider policy agenda to shape the environment in which our members work, LLG regularly responds to government consultations. As the voice of the membership, LLG can deliver nuanced comment and critique of any proposals, grounded in the practical experience of our members in a variety of shapes and sizes of council. Members have regular opportunity to contribute to the LLG response to increase the diversity of voices, either directly or through the national group. Our strength is in our membership, so make your voice count.
LLG Legal Training is our training company.
Local government lawyers and governance officers have unique training needs. As well as extensive knowledge of the law and governance frameworks, members need a strong local government context to their training, bedded in public sector principles. Our extensive training and conference programme is precisely tailored to your needs – offering both subject specific training, skills training, and wider thought leadership on the bigger issues in local government. Interactive training is done online in small groups to facilitate learning. A series of one day online conferences cater for a variety of legal disciplines, development needs, or roles, whilst our two vibrant residential conferences offer face to face opportunity to learn, network and socialise with others in the sector.
With around 20 years' experience delivering CPD accredited, industry-defining training to the public sector legal professional, LLG Legal Training draws on a pool of talent, sector knowledge and legal expertise to shape a comprehensive programme of training events that responds to changing needs, creatively identifies training requirements and is ultimately designed to provide the public sector legal practitioner with a one-stop shop where the emphasis is always on quality and value for money.
With over 100 courses, seminars, conferences and events every year, LLG Legal Training continually strives to offer the public sector legal professional - and others whose role brings them into contact with existing and future legislation - access to the best advice and the highest quality training in the market.
Our events attract some of the finest speakers from the legal world - barristers, solicitors, senior figures in local and central government, opinion formers and sector specialists. If you are interested in becoming an LLG Legal Training speaker or would like to suggest a training topic not currently provided we would be very keen to hear from you. Please contact us on 01483 954 245.
LLG Legal Training is the limited company training arm of Lawyers in Local Government (LLG). Our board members are all from a local authority or public sector background, giving them a unique understanding of the issues and pressures facing the sector through changing legislation, budgetary restraints and continually evolving pressures on personnel.
In-House training
If you are interested in having an In-House, bespoke training course delivered at your authority please contact us and we can provide costs on your requirements.
Offers
LLG Legal Training also offers group discounts on courses and conferences. If you make three to four bookings on the same day at the same time we will give you a 5% discount. If you book five or more we will give you a 10% discount. Simply quote 5% or 10% at the time of booking and send an email to bookings@llg.org.uk These bookings can be a combination of courses for the same person or a mix of different people on the same course or different courses. You will have to all be from the same council or company. The bookings will have to be made at the same time and cannot be used on bookings already made and processed.
Documentation
We also provide course documentation on courses currently running which you can purchase for £49.95 VAT exempt. Please email info@llg.org.uk for more information.
