LLG are delighted to announce that the LLG Spring Conference 2026 will be held at The EastSide Rooms in Birmingham Friday 5 June for Day 1. Day 1 can also be joined online. Day 2 will be an online conference the following week on Friday 12th June. In person attendees can select from all programme sessions whereas online attendees will join the first programme only.
Packages for the conference start at £160.00 + VAT for junior lawyers. Please click the 'Book Now' tab to find full pricing information. Junior bookings must be booked via email to bookings@llg.org.uk
This conference may be eligible for funding from The Local Government Legal Society Trust. All enquiries to be emailed to Nwalkerlgls@gmail.com Details about the Trust and an application form is available to download.
Why the LLG Spring Conference 2026 matters more than ever
Local government lawyers and governance officers are practising in one of the most complex and fast‑moving environments the sector has seen in decades. The pressures — and opportunities — they face extend well beyond the delivery of legal services. Structural reform, financial stress, political volatility and rapidly evolving case law are reshaping the landscape in which local authorities operate. Lawyers need to understand law in context — how it interacts with organisational design, democratic change, public trust and the lived realities of the communities we serve.
The need for resilience has never been higher. Lawyers and governance professionals no longer operate at the margins of organisational transformation. They are central to it.
The Redesign Programme opens with a keynote focused on organisational redesign, resilience and professional authority in challenging times, setting the tone for a conference focused on realism, optimism and professionalism.
The Regulatory Change Programme sessions focus on some of the most significant areas of legal and regulatory change facing local authorities.
Professional resilience is as important as technical competence. The Respect & Resilience Programme sessions focus on wellbeing, ethics, and careers
Our online day, a week later, will reflect on the elections 2026, look at Decarbonisation, Right to Review under the evolving standards regime, life after Mazur, and Data Subject Access requests.
Join the conversation with leading practitioners, policy thinkers and experts from across local government and the wider legal community. Whether you are navigating restructuring, advising on reform, topping up your legal skills, supporting democratic governance or building your own resilience and career, the programme is designed to meet you where you are — and help you move forward with confidence.
Our Conference is not just a training event, but a window onto the wider world.
10.45 - 11.30
Local Government Reorganisation Panel
10.45 - 11.30
The Future of Planning
10.45 - 11.30
Soft Skills for Junior Lawyers
12.15 - 13.00
New Towns
12.15 - 13.00
PFI Contract Expiry & Handback
12.15 - 13.00
Adapting to your New Administration
14.00 - 14.45
Devolution in Practice
14.00 - 14.45
Procurement Changes One Year On ....
14.00 - 14.45
Managing the Vexatious Litigant
14.45 - 15.30
Ethics for In-House Lawyers
14.45 - 15.30
LGR - Connecting People, Policy and Process (to vesting day and beyond!)
14.45 - 15.30
How can Junior Lawyers learn in an AI Environment?
16.15 - 17.00
Evolving & modernising regulatory practice of a key function - Taxis, private hire & local government
16.15 - 17.00
The National CSE Inquiry
16.15 - 17.00
Career Enhancement Tips for Junior Lawyers
If your question is not answered below, and you have questions regarding the conference, please do not hesitate to email bookings@llg.org.uk and a member of our team will be in touch as soon as possible.
Dates:
In addition to booking to attend the 2 days of the conference, there are a number of available packages that include attending the Friday evening dinner with LLG Awards Ceremony:
LLG will be funding a number of places for Junior Lawyers who are LLG members to attend the spring conference. On day 1 there will specific breakout sessions for you and you will have the opportunity to meet LLG's Junior Director and LLG's Junior National Lead.
Who can apply: The bursary applications are open to junior lawyers (less than 3PQE) and trainee solicitors.
What the bursary includes: Attendance in person on day 1 of the conference Friday 5 June in Birmingham, attendance at the Friday evening dinner and LLG Awards Ceremony and Presentations, and overnight accommodation in Birmingham for the Friday night. Also included is attendance at day 2 of the conference, a remote day on Friday 12 June. Please note travel expenses are not paid for and you must be available to attend day 1of the conference in person (Birmingham).
Please email training@llg.org.uk for an application form and application guidelines.
All virtual delegates will have access to the following features:
Full instructions on how to join the conference via Zoom will be emailed to all delegates in advance of the conference.
Some ticket packages include the Friday evening post conference dinner, which will take place at The EastSide Rooms on the evening of the conference, Friday 5 June. This will include attendance at the LLG Awards Ceremony. Dietary requirements and further information will be collected/released closer to the time of the conference.
How to Find Us - Directions for The Eastside Rooms
The Eastside Rooms is centrally located at the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside.
Nearest Train Station: Birmingham New Street
Parking: The nearest car park is the Millennium Point Multi Storey Car Park, Howe Street, B4 7AP - see the 'How to find us link' above for further details.
Please be aware The Eastside Rooms is within the Birmingham Clean Air Zone. For further details on the Clean Air Scheme please visit brumbreathes.co.uk.
Overnight accommodation is not included in the conference package price and if looking to stay overnight, you will need to book this separately.
On the day of the conference, catering will be provided during lunch. Refreshments will be available during breaks. All delegates are asked to inform LLG of any dietary requirements at the time of booking. A number of in-person tickets also include dinner on Friday evening. If looking to stay overnight you will need to book accommodation separately.
Delegates attending in-person at The EastSide Rooms will have the opportunity to visit the company exhibition throughout Friday.
Meet LLGs Corporate Partners at the exhibition:
Iken, Capsticks, Weightmans, Sharpe Pritchard, Browne Jacobson, VWV, Trowers & Hamlins, Wilkin Chapman Rollits, Thomson Reuters, WBD, Anthony Collins, Bevan Brittan, Freeths, Venn Group
Also exhibiting are Sellick Partnership
President for Lawyers in Local Government
National Lead for Monitoring Officers and Governance
Director of Legal & Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, Durham County Council
Helen has over 20 years local government experience having worked in both district and unitary authorities. Initially specialising in criminal and civil litigation, all of Helen’s roles have included a focus on local authority governance, which reflects her interest in this area of expertise. She is politically astute and has successfully supported senior officers and members to navigate political change within authorities.
Through her work with LLG, Helen is acutely aware of the challenges faced by Monitoring Officers across the sector and the need for strong local authority governance. She works with a number of stakeholders to develop tools to support Monitoring Officers and promote good governance.
Helen believes that a good understanding of local authority governance from the outset was a key factor in her career progression. She is passionate about developing this knowledge with those entering into the local government legal profession and developing the Monitoring Officers of the future.
Amy Prime is a Managing Associate at Womble Bond Dickinson and a member of the WBD Advance team. She leads a multi-disciplinary team delivering managed services, high-volume projects, and bespoke client solutions, combining legal expertise with innovative technology. She has particular expertise in advising and support clients on the operational aspects of data subject access requests, as well as legal advice on complex and contentious requests. She has worked closely with clients through WBD Clarity to improve operational efficiency and reduce business risk, whilst ensuring regulatory compliance.
Anja is a partner in Browne Jacobson’s government and infrastructure team and is a trusted advisor to numerous public sector clients. Anja is recognised for her experience in public procurement (litigious and non-litigious), outsourcing arrangements, complex governance structures, alternative service delivery models, and joint working between health and local government.
Anja invests time with clients through thought leadership and other engagement to understand the broader issues they are facing. Anja has led on various successful campaigns such as the role of local government in integrated care systems and reforms to the public procurement regime.
Catherine is a partners specialising, in procurement/commercial contracts, working with many local authorities, across the country, on a wide range of projects. Catherine has a particular interest in supporting junior lawyers in developing their confidence and soft skills to support them to enable clients to achieve their requirements, and to add demonstrable value in doing so. Catherine fully understands the complexities and demands of being a junior lawyer in local government having trained and then practised in different council, before joining Sharpe Pritchard, during which time recognised and benefitted from LLG training opportunities and special interest groups.
Catherine provides guidance and support on Sharpe Pritchard’s internal junior programmes, work experience and 10,000 intern placements. She is due to speak to the LLG Junior Professional National Lead meeting, in July, on the topic of “Writing effective legal advice”.
Claire leads the firm’s governance work for local government and acts as a crucial sounding board for all levels of local government, advising monitoring officers and members and helping them to make informed legal decisions.
Equipped with over 20 years of in‑house experience, she advises local authorities and their companies on regulatory governance matters, reviews constitutions, governance arrangements and decision‑making. She is in high demand to undertake standards investigations and is well regarded for providing member training. Her depth of experience across county, district and unitary local councils has shaped her extensive knowledge of local government challenges. Claire is able to guide authorities across the country on what they can accomplish and more importantly how to go about doing it. She also leads Anthony Collins’ local government reorganisation work, alongside Matthew Gregson.
Prior to working at Anthony Collins, Claire was the Monitoring Officer and Director of Governance and Law at Herefordshire Council, where she also served as acting Deputy Chief Executive.
Connie has built a strong reputation for a collaborative, consultative approach and a detailed understanding of the public sector legal market. She works closely with local authorities across the UK to deliver tailored recruitment solutions that support both short-term requirements and long-term workforce planning. Passionate about supporting legal professionals at every stage of their careers, she provides honest market insight and practical guidance to help individuals navigate and succeed within the evolving local government legal landscape.
Deborah Evans was appointed in 2018 as the first Chief Executive of LLG. Having started her career in local government at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, she has since gone on to work in senior roles across the legal sector, including the in-house legal team of a major retailer; as a Practice Director of a law firm; in management at the Legal Aid Board; Chief Executive of the Legal Complaints Service, and most recently as Chief Executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
Deborah has also been involved with digital claims resolution platforms such as Claims Portal and MedCo.
Emma has over 20 years’ experience at Venn Group, where she established and leads the Legal Division, one of the most respected and trusted legal recruitment teams in the local government sector. She partners with councils nationwide, delivering both interim and permanent legal talent, and leads multiple specialist teams that navigate complex, high-demand legal requirements. Known for her collaborative style and deep sector expertise, Emma is dedicated to driving Venn Group’s reputation as a market-leading provider of legal recruitment solutions.
Emma is an experienced and well-regarded energy lawyer. She advises on a range of commercial and regulatory energy matters across various renewable and clean technologies.
Emma has extensive experience advising a wide range of clients including generators, offtakers, regulated utilities, lenders, investors, and public sector bodies on key project documentation throughout an asset’s life cycle, including construction, operational and revenue contracts.
She has extensive experience of advising on route to market arrangements in the UK and internationally, including a range of corporate PPAs, as well as the co-location of BESS with other clean tech. She is recognised for being “well-versed in renewable PPAs” (Legal 500, 2025).
Helen is an experienced local government lawyer, and former LLG President. For two decades she has held Monitoring Officer and Chief Legal Officer roles, at every level of local authority, most recently at West Midlands Combined Authority. Helen has been semi-retired since May 2026, and is currently working with Ambition North Wales, a Corporate Joint Committee (equivalent to a combined authority), supporting their Interim Monitoring Officer to establish governance arrangements. She is also the governance lead on the Tees Valley Combined Authority Independent Advisory Board, supporting them to respond to their non-statutory Best Value Notice.
Henry has over 20 years' experience in advising public sector bodies. He specialises in social care claims, highways, human rights, occupiers' liability, employers' liability, stress, public rights of way and 'power and duty' cases. His work includes recovery of indemnities under outsource contracts and contributions from abusers, with experience in CSE (Child sexual exploitation).
Chambers & Partners describe Henry as "an experienced personal injury solicitor with comprehensive knowledge of litigation concerning public sector bodies", while The Legal 500 notes that he is known for "his expertise in social care work involving historic abuse and deprivation of liberty".
James is a chartered accountant (ICAS) with over 20 years' PFI experience spanning procurement, operational reviews, expiry and handback. He started his career in local government before spending 12 years at Director level in a Big 4 advisory firm. He currently supports both Local Government and NHS clients on PFI operational improvement and expiry projects. He also led P2G's support for the DHSC new Neighbourhood Health Centre PPP model which is in development.
Jessica specialises in public sector housing, advising on vires, structuring, development and funding arrangements. She has supported Homes England and the Greater London Authority’s affordable housing programmes since 2015, including the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026–36. Her experience spans complex grant funding structures, including community housing, Right to Buy receipts, modular housing and major decarbonisation initiatives. Jessica advises on template agreements, negotiations and subsidy control compliance. She also works with local authorities and housing associations on joint ventures, partnerships and delivery models, providing strategic advice on governance, regulation, statutory powers, funding and local authority accounting.
Jonathan is a solicitor, and a regulatory and public sector partner at Wilkin Chapman Rollits, a top 200 law firm with a national local government practice. He has worked in, or for, local government for over 30 years and was a Monitoring Officer for 6 years.
Jonathan has investigated many hundreds of cases of the alleged misconduct of local government councillors, including many of the most complex and politically high profile. Jonathan was a member of the core drafting team for the modular constitution for English councils and undertakes a range of public, administrative and regulatory law advice for local authorities, academies, NHS bodies, charities and also companies in the chemical, logistics and offshore renewables sectors.
He has been an Independent Person and is also a Deputy Monitoring Officer in two local authorities and a Monitoring Officer to a national park authority. He was an advisor to the Committee on Standards in Public Life in relation to its 2019 report on Ethical Standards in local Government and was a co-author of the LGA model code and guidance.
He is an independent lay member of the Standards Committee of a Welsh County Council.
He practices principally in planning and local plan preparation and examination work but also in property law, with a particular experience in development agreements, and environmental law focussing on water pollution, flooding and coastal liability and contaminated land and local government, particularly local government reorganisation and devolution. Matthew has been consistently ranked as a leading barrister in Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and the Planning Magazine’s Legal Survey and in 2025 was identified in that survey as one of the top 10 KC’s in the country.
Michael Graham is a solicitor and senior local government leader with over 35 years' experience in legal and governance services across multiple councils, including 21 years as Monitoring Officer at four different authorities. He has direct experience of building and managing shared legal services, restructuring teams, and designing the systems and processes that keep organisations running through periods of significant change. Most recently he led a department of over 100 staff with a combined budget exceeding £9 million. Now working as an independent consultant and interim, Michael brings a practitioner's perspective on what it takes to connect people, policy and process when organisations are under pressure to transform. He joins this session with Iken to share lessons from the frontline.
Nick is a solicitor specialising in the commercial side of public sector projects, having advised a wide variety of public sector bodies including central and local government, academy trusts, schools and universities as well as private sector clients on PPP and PFI matters. More recently Nick has been leading on the handback of a number of high profile PFI expiry projects including advising Stoke City Council on the DfE's largest PFI Scheme as well as one of the first education PFI Schemes - Victoria Dock, Hull.
Paul is the Immediate Past President of LLG. He is the Director of Legal and Assurance and Monitoring Officer at Essex County Council. He has spent the last 30 years working for all types of councils from Northumberland and Greater Manchester to the Eastern region (Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire); from a district with a population of 31,000 to Essex which has a population of 1.5m. He has been a monitoring officer or deputy since 2001. Paul has been a Chairman of the LLG Eastern Branch for three years and previously held the title for Regional Director Position for Eastern. Of his work at Branch level, Paul says “It’s been interesting and fun, and I’ve met so many people who are passionate about making a difference”.
Philip joined Bevan Brittan in 2022, following a successful career in local government which began in 1988. He is a past president for ACSeS/LLG, for whom he led on a number of practice areas and produced a number of codes and best practice protocols. This includes, as Bevan Brittan, drafting the Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers for LLG, CIPFA and Solace.
Philip advises extensively on local authority decision making, constitutional issues and monitoring officer matters. He is the current author of Knowles on Local Authority Meetings and is an editorial consultant and author on local authority governance.
Rachel is a partner specialising in construction, working with many local authorities, across the country, on a wide range of projects. Rachel has a particular interest in supporting junior lawyers in developing their confidence and soft skills to support them to enable clients to achieve their requirements, and to add demonstrable value in doing so. Rachel fully understands the complexities and demands of being a junior lawyer in local government having, trained and then practised in different council, before joining Sharpe Pritchard, during which time she benefitted from LLG training opportunities and special interest groups.
Rachel provides guidance and support on Sharpe Pritchard’s internal junior programmes, work experience and 10,000 intern placements. She has been instrumental in the development of a highly regarded Sharpe Pritchard junior lawyer programme, delivered through a local authority framework.
Rebecca Gilbert is a Legal Director at Capsticks where she is an experienced public sector projects solicitor advising local authorities and other public sector clients on a variety of complex and multi-disciplinary projects ranging from regeneration and development, infrastructure, alternative delivery models, joint ventures, collaborations and service arrangements.
Richard is an infrastructure investment programme and project delivery expert with significant breadth and depth of experience and key skills in government policy implementation, programme and project origination, governance and planning, co ordinating, managing and delivering legal and commercial advisory across various sectors, including social infrastructure, the Net Zero economy and transport.
Richard has significant experience in developing and implementing innovative and high-profile public sector led energy infrastructure models, programmes and projects working closely and effectively with central government (UK Government, Scottish Government (SG) and Welsh Government (WG)), local authorities and private sector funders and contractors. He is recognised in Legal 500 and Chambers & Co
2 Woodcock Street, Birmingham, B7 4BL
Corporate Partner, Exhibitor & Junior Lawyer Programme Sponsor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Corporate Partner & Conference Exhibitor
Related events
09:30 - 17:30
The EastSide Rooms, Birmingham 2 Woodcock Street, Birmingham, B7 4BL
