b'Local Government Lawyer 37Delving into this years survey results, Tim Morel of Kennedy Cater identifies where inefficiencies lie in local government legal departments and suggests how legal frameworks might help.Now in its fourth incarnation since it wasspot, or that the survey indicated a numberlawyers to withdraw from the permanent launched in 2012, the Legal Departmentof different reasons for this. So whilst themarket and to move into the temp / agency of the Future survey by Local Governmentsalary expectations of solicitors was noted asmarket, further compounding the ability to Lawyer, suggests changing priorities inan area where local government has always,fill vacancies.terms of the management challengesand continues to struggle to compete withThere is evidence, however, that local facing local government legal teams, withprivate practice, it was not suggested thatauthorities are identifying and responding recruitment and retention now top of thethe gap had widened since the last surveyto the various factors that local government list.or that this was an increasingly aggravatinglawyers consider when making career In the context of an anticipated furtherfactor.decisions. When asked to give the three increase in the volume of legal workInstead, a number of alternative reasonsmost important factors in deciding where generated by the participating authorities,were suggested. One of these was that localto work, respondents to the survey placed with 50% predicting a significant increaseauthorities had not done enough to managework-life balance top with 68% and quality (>10%) and 37% predicting a slight increasethe supply of new lawyers and could haveand type of work available second with (5%- 10%), on the face of it, this representsdone more to develop their own trainees53%, with pay/pension now relegated a step change from the priorities reportedand pool of future lawyers. As one delegateto third place on 50%, down from 65% by respondents when this survey was firstat the roundtable commented: Weveand first place in 2015. This aligns closely carried out in 2011. At that time recruitmenttended to blow hot and cold on growingwith responses to a question which asked was in sixth place and yet by the time of theour own trainees. When were desperaterespondents to rank their satisfaction with next survey in 2015 it had risen to third withto recruit people then we get very hot on12 areas of their working life on a score of 32% of respondents placing it in the toptrainees and when times are better, were1 to 10; quality of work scored the highest three, and now, in 2019 36% of respondentsperhaps less positive about that and wewith 7.5 compared with 7.1 in 2015, with cite it as their biggest managementwould look to recruit ready made lawyers towork-life balance a close second, scoring 7.2 challenge, with 70% placing it in their topfit the roles weve got.compared with 6.7 in 2015. three and 39% saying that recruitment ofA number of apprenticeship schemesWith each of the other ten aspects of good lawyers is now very difficult, comparedfor both solicitors and non-solicitortheir employment scoring higher than in with only 15% in 2015.legal support roles, are available to2015 and with the average score being Cost control and budgetary issues, byauthorities who do want to future proof6.3, compared to 5.8 in 2015, there is a contrast, which had been in the numbertheir own teams by developing staff fromclear sign that factors other than pay and one position in the previous two surveys,the ground up. These include a 6 yearpensions are driving an increase in morale now moves into second place, with 30% ofsolicitor apprenticeship, as well as CILExamongst local government lawyers. As respondents citing it as their number oneand paralegal apprenticeship schemes,one of the round table delegates noted, challenge, and 53% placing it in their topalthough finding suitable candidates tothe kind of key message for us to focus three. Yet is the emergence of recruitmenttake advantage of these opportunities wason is [how to] make ourselves the best on and retention as the number onealso seen as a challenge, not helped by thethose other things. The work-life balance is management challenge really as significantineligibility of undergraduates and thosesomething we can offer. So while morale as it might first appear, or is it simply thewho have taken the LPC.amongst local government lawyers appears natural consequence of relentless costAlthough remuneration was not the mostto be improving, it is a little surprising that control and budgetary pressures over theimportant factor that lawyers consider whenrecruitment and retention has risen to the past 10 years? deciding where to work, the higher pay ratestop of management challenges. Amongst the roundtable panel thereavailable to agency staff, often without theLess surprising, however, is that limited were no surprises that recruitment andadditional responsibilities required of seniorresources and recruitment difficulties have retention had moved into the number onepermanent lawyers is encouraging manyseen a decline in the number of legal teams'