Five councils and combined authority in running for Legal Team of the Year

Five councils and a combined authority have been shortlisted for Legal Team of the Year in the Local Government Legal Awards 2017.

The ceremony for the awards, which are run by Lawyers in Local Government, will be held at the Burlington Hotel, Burlington Arcade in Birmingham on 24 November 2017.

John Pienaar, Deputy Political Editor at the BBC and presenter of Pienaar’s Politics, will act as master of ceremonies.

The shortlist for Legal Team of the Year is:

• Southampton & Fareham Legal Services Partnership
• Warwickshire County Council - Management Team
• City of Wolverhampton Council Legal Team
• West Lancashire Borough Council Legal Services
• Durham County Council Legal Services                                                                   
• West Midlands Combined Authority – Governance Team

The other shortlists are as follows:

Local Government Legal Professional of the Year

• Sarita Riley – Southampton City Council/Fareham Borough Council            
• Gurbinder Singh Sangha – Coventry City Council 
• Brett Davies – Wakefield Council
• Wendy Ratcliffe – Milton Keynes Council              
• Zabina Bi – West Midlands Combined Authority 

Practice Manager / Business Team of the Year

• Warwickshire County Council – Finance & Systems Support
• North West Legal Consortium – Management Board
• LGSS Law Ltd – Practice Management Team
• Lorraine Moses-Copeman – City of Wolverhampton Council H NJN
• Phillip Barker – London Borough of Southwark    

CILEx Lawyer of the Year                                

• Wakefield Council – Property Law Team
• Robert Baldwin – City of Wolverhampton Council
• Nikki Fonseka – nplaw (Norfolk County Council) 
• David House – Warwickshire County Council        
• Sheila Teli – London Borough of Hackney               
• Celia Marks – Manchester City Council    

Governance Lawyer / Team of the Year                       

• Enfield Council – Major Contracts & Commercial Team
• City of Wolverhampton Council – Governance Team
• West Midlands Combined Authority – Governance Team

Junior Lawyer of the Year                                            

• Ben Hitch – Wakefield Council    
• Tom Pugh – Southampton City Council/Fareham Borough Council              
• Jade Cooper-Orton – Cornwall Council    
• Egle Gineikiene – Milton Keynes Council
• Zabina Bi – West Midlands Combined Authority 

Litigation Lawyer / Team of the Year                                       

• Warwickshire County Council – Debt Recovery Team
• City of Wolverhampton Council – Litigation Team
• Sheffield City Council – Litigation team
• Katrina Hulatt – Milton Keynes Council

People Related Lawyer / Team of the Year                                           

• Wakefield Council – Brett Davies
• City of Wolverhampton Council Legal Services Team
• Warwickshire County Council – Lara MacNab, Solicitor
• City & County of Swansea – Childcare Team
• Staffordshire County Council – Contracts Team
• Milton Keynes Council – MKCC Social Care Law Team

Place Related Lawyer / Team of the Year                                               

• Southampton & Fareham Legal Services Partnership
• East Law
• Telford & Wrekin Council – Places Legal Team    
• London Borough of Southwark – Regeneration & Development Team
• Steven Bell – nplaw         

Project Lawyer / Team of the Year                           

• Southampton & Fareham Legal Services Partnership
• Newark & Sherwood District Council – Legal Team
• Staffordshire County Council – Contracts Team
• Warwickshire County Council – Corporate and Commercial Team
• West Midlands Combined Authority