ACSeS survey finds large numbers of heads of legal remain “out of the loop”

Almost half of the country's chief executives are failing to get the most out of their legal teams by not involving them in strategic process beyond their traditional professional roles, according to a survey of local authority heads of legal conducted by the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS).

A little over half (52%) of the 44 ACSeS members who took part in the survey agreed that “the chief executive demands a contribution of the chief legal officer/monitoring officer (CLO/MO) that is more than traditionally encompassed in the role of CLO/MO". Only 60% agreed that their roles “were not limited to offering accurate and timely CLO/MO/ governance advice “when called upon to do so”.

ACSeS's Strategic Relationships Survey 2010, which was undertaken in August and September this year with the assistance of the University of Birmingham, aimed to analyse the relationship between the three Statutory Officers at local authorities - the CLO/MO, the s.151 officer and the head of paid service.

In response to its findings, ACSeS highlighted three ways in which chief executives could get more from their CLOs and their chief executives. These were:

• The chief executive needs to encourage the CLO/MO to play a wider role than that of a traditional CLO/MO
• The chief executive needs to emphasise to others (including leading politicians) the strategic and corporate contributions made by the CLO/MO beyond his or her professional CLO/MO role, and
• The chief executive should have more confidence in the CLO/MO to operate without prior clearance with the political leadership.

However, respondents to the survey also identified a wide range of ways in which heads of legal can help themselves to get break out of their traditional roles and become more involved in the policy-making process.

Chief legal officers need to stress the positive and proactive aspects of their roles, respondents suggested, and need to earn the respect of others rather than expecting it based on their job titles.

To earn this respect, the survey said, CLOs “need to be a good colleagues and team members, who give practical help and advice rather than just being seen as a legal professionals”, while respondents also stressed the need for heads of legal to be “attuned to the culture of their organisations” and to proactively demonstrate how they can contribute to it by being a “problem solver rather than an obstructer”.

In the wake of these comments, ACSeS has defined three “top tips” for CLOs to help themselves expand their roles beyond traditional boundaries.

• Avoid saying “no”, without giving options and avoid being seen as a block or a barrier to innovation
• Avoid “legal speak” and avoid hiding in the office behind technical legal books or giving technical advice which does not take into account the practicalities, and
• Avoid losing the trust and/or confidence of members and officers and avoid getting involved in the minutiae of internal processes.

The president of ACSeS, Dr Mirza Ahmad, said: “As local government moves forward during a time of profound change, the strategic success of the relationship between the three top corporate governance officers is ever more vital. A key element for success is the sound functional relationship between the chief legal/monitoring officer and the head of paid service.

“What is clear is that senior lawyers in local government are already pushing (and being recognised for pushing) well beyond the black letter of the law and helping to make a real difference to their localities. Their talent will be ever more essential as strategic partnerships and other forms of collaboration (such as place-based budgeting) become a fact of life across local government.

“Whilst the results highlight some areas for improvement in the strategic relationships, it is pleasing to note that top lawyers who are focussed on adding value to the corporate and strategic agendas of local authorities will continue to rise to the top to meet even more challenges and opportunities. Local government is, therefore, far stronger and richer because of their skills and abilities.”