b'40 Local Government LawyerCo-sourcing: a new era of flexible resourcingBill Hull examines the opportunities for hard-pressed local government legal teams offered by co-sourcing with private practice firms.As an industry with increasing and persistentin part, the varying forms of shared serviceslegal framework; and pressures to improve efficiencies, thesolutions that are available across theOrbis Public Law, a partnership local government legal landscape is morecountry. The latest figures from the Localbetween the legal services of scattered with shared services arrangementsGovernment Association estimates there toBrighton & Hove City Council, East than ever before. Whether instead of, orbe 626 shared services partnerships acrossSussex County Council and West to supplement, existing shared servicelocal government, generating savings to theSussex County Council.arrangements, building stronger yettaxpayer of over 1.34bnsome 200m of sufficiently flexible relationships with privatewhich was saved in 2018/2019 alone.Shared services arrangements can be practice firms is proving a welcome option. There are many forms of shared serviceseffective and successful. Over the past There has been no dramaticarrangements across local governmentdecade there has been sustained growth in advancement in the delivery of legalfor the provision of back-office services.such schemes. With proper governance and services across local government in theFor legal departments, perhaps themanagement, they are proven to increase past five years. Senior managers remainmost common structure is in the form ofefficiencies and achieve savings in shared under great pressure to achieve significantcollaboration with other authorities and/orknowledge and resource. savings against budget cuts whilst meetingpublic bodies. Successful models include: However, implementing such measures increased demand and requirements tocan also be disproportionately costly and improve delivery. In this environment theLGSS Law, established as andisruptive, with the potential for creating a challenge of recruiting and retaining staff isalternative business structuredisconnect between teams and authorities. more difficult than ever, alongside operatingin 2015 and wholly ownedSometimes, while authority collaborations a supportive working environment thatby Cambridgeshire andcan increase available resource for particular encourages collaboration and up-skilling ofNorthamptonshire County Councilsrequirements, they do not give access to teams and individuals.along with Central Bedfordshirethe broader or more specialist skills that are Across the board, local governmentCouncil;required. As shared service arrangements departments continue to adapt. So whatEM Lawshare, a significantrepresent a fixed resource they are not does the local government legal departmentconsortium of more than 180always as efficient as calling on additional landscape look like in 2019?public bodies capable of procuringresource only when it is required.Many authorities have embraced, at leastdiscounted legal services through itsAn additional option comes in the shape'