b'Attendees training contract to take on newly-qualifiedswere perhaps less positive about that at the end, but the growth in demand forand we would look to recruit ready-made Julie Newman, Head of Legal,legal services means that finding themlawyers to fit the roles weve got.Coventry City Council permanent roles has not been a significantIt would be nice to think this is a sort of John Tradewell, Director of Corporateproblem when the time comes. a long-term trend that were now adopting Services, Staffordshire County Council Fiona Thomsen, head of shared legalbut Im not sure it is because sometimes the Jessica Farmer, Head of Legal, HBservices at shared service the South Londonstructure of things like training contracts Public Law Legal Partnership (SLLP), said that being adont really suit what we want at the end Fiona Thomsen, Head of Shared Legallarge department was highly beneficial inof it.Services, SLLP this regard. If you have 80-90 fee earners,At the moment we want a load of Sam McGinty, Head of Legal,you inevitably have some churn whichchildcare lawyers, but the structure of a Loughborough University means that there are vacancies coming uptraining contract doesnt actually get you Lindsey Marks, Deputy Head of Legal,pretty much all the time, she said. there. So it is a good way of recruiting for London Borough of Barking andAs well as conventional trainees, therethe long term but not necessarily where Dagenham was a lot of enthusiasm for the use ofthere are particular gaps that you can see Quentin Baker, Chief Legal Officer,apprenticeship schemes which take A-levelcoming through in your system.Hertfordshire CC students through to qualification as either Mark Hynes, Director of Legal andparalegals, legal executives or solicitorsGetting ahead in the recruitment marketGovernance, London Borough ofalthough there is some concern that theseWhen it comes to hiring and retaining more Waltham Forest routes are not available to LPC graduates. experienced staff, the barriers facing many Janet Polley, Senior Principal Solicitor,Although it is early days, it was thoughtlocal authorities are well-rehearsedpay, Surrey County Council that apprentices are more likely to stickprospects and perception amongst them. It Catherine Taylor, Head of Contractsaround following qualification, not leastwas also noted that the locum market had and Litigation, London Borough ofbecause the time required (six years for amatured and become more attractive to Ealing solicitor apprentice, for example) meansmany local government lawyers as the gap Vanessa Cooper, Legal Director, TLTthat they are much more likely to bein pay between permanent and agency staff Solicitors ingrained within local government by thegrows wider. Using locums has become a Sean OConnell, VP Marketing,time of qualification than an LPC graduatefact of life for many local authorities.CaseLines who is in and out in two years. It was agreed that the imposition of Maya Hodroj, Market DevelopmentOne note of warning, however, cameIR35 last yearin which many locums are DirectorBar, Public Sector,from one participant who suspected thatnow deemed to be employees rather than Academic, LexisNexis the present enthusiasm might wane if incontractors for taxation purposeshas Anne Kingsley, PSL Solicitor,due course the recruitment situation formade agency staff more expensive but (as LexisNexis experienced lawyers eased in future. the survey also found) not reduced their Philip Hoult, Editor, Local GovernmentWeve tended to blow a bit hot and coldusage very much. Lawyer on growing our own trainees, the delegateWhile some delegates said that they tried Derek Bedlow, Publisher, Localsaid. When were desperate to recruitto operate a temp-to-perm policy whereby Government Lawyer people then we get very hot on trainees andlocums were offered permanent roles after growing our own and when times are better,a while, in the in-demand fields, such as'