Brighton and Hove crowned ‘Legal Team of the Year’ at LLG Awards 2024
Brighton and Hove City Council Legal Services have been named ‘Legal Team of the Year’ at the LLG Awards 2024.
The judges made particular mention of the team’s work supporting Kent County Council in a judicial review claim regarding the operation of the National Transfer Scheme – after which the High Court ruled that the Home Office action in relation to UAS children was unlawful when it chose to place them in hotels rather than into local authority care.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Legal Team were ‘Highly Commended’.
The award ceremony, held at LLG’s Spring Conference in Leeds on Friday (7 June), celebrated the contributions and achievements of legal professionals in the local government sector.
The award categories were:
- Junior Lawyer of the Year
- Legal Team of the Year
- Legal Professional of the Year
- Excellence in Training Award
- Significant Contribution to Local Government and Practice Award
The ‘Junior Lawyer of the Year’ award was won by Samuel Pitchford from Pembrokeshire County Council, while Nkencho Okonta from the London Borough of Hackney was Highly Commended.
Cath Whitehead, Director of Law and Governance at West Northamptonshire Council was named ‘Legal Professional of the Year’, while Alison Freeth from Warwickshire County Council was Highly Commended.
The ‘Excellence in Training’ award, given to celebrate the individuals or teams who have “excelled” in their efforts to support aspiring legal professionals, was awarded to Warwickshire County Council.
Gloucestershire County Council were Highly Commended in this category.
Finally, the ‘Significant Contribution to Local Government and Practice’ Award was won by Doreen Forrester-Brown, Assistant Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer at Southwark Council.
A spokesperson for the LLG said: “LLG is incredibly proud to have hosted the LLG Awards ceremony last Friday, 7 June 2024, in Leeds at the beautiful Met Hotel. It was a night of celebration, and recognition of the exceptional talent and dedication of our local government lawyers. We were inspired by the achievements of our members and colleagues who have gone an extra mile and excelled in legal training and promoting careers within local government, safeguarding, innovative projects, cost recovery, promoting diversity and much, much more.
“Our LLG Awards aim to highlight the significant contribution and underscore the vital role of local government lawyers in enhancing our communities and driving social mobility. Congratulations to all our winners and highly commended individuals who are driving these changes. Your outstanding work and commitment inspire us all to strive for excellence, elevating local government to its highest standards.
“Thank you to all our finalists, highly commended nominees and our 2024 winners for all of your hard work and thank you to everyone who celebrated with us in-person and remotely.”
Elizabeth Culbert, Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services at Brighton and Hove City Council said: "We are really delighted to have won this award. It is particularly special because it recognises Legal Services as a whole. Each legal team and each individual contributes to making us a successful service, so we are thrilled with this award which recognises every team member.”