b'12 Local Government Lawyerpermanent jobs market, this alone will not fixto the salary levels offered by the authorityleaving services understaffed, overwhelmed, the problem.and the higher level of hourly rates whichand ultimately at risk of failure.Training up new lawyers is another solutionlocums demand.that some councils are seizing upon, alongsideThe issue that is forcing the council toAdam Carey is a reporter at Local attempting to reduce their reliance on locums.search for new means of finding professionalsGovernment Lawyer.In an industry where the average age is its inability to compete with private north of 40, it is clear that there is a lack ofpractice on salaryis the same problem that young legal professionals being fed into thecould knee-cap grow your own schemes as system to replace people as they retire.graduates might be dissuaded from training in Local authorities like Coventry City Councillocal government to begin with. have taken on eight new trainees in anThis raises the question of whether the attempt to fix their succession problem.sector even has the tools to fix the problem The West Midlands authority is training its it is certainly not in a position to make its prospective lawyers in specific practice areassalaries competitive, and improving the work-via the new Solicitors Qualifying Examinationlife balance mix will be difficult as workloads route (see SQE article on page 21), with theare predicted to rise. hopes that it will have permanent solicitorEven the iron-clad job security aspect of positions open for them when they qualify.working in local government is in question However, despite the enthusiasm for theseas the national funding crisis rumbles on initiatives at some councils, there is still a lotand whole legal departments are set to of scepticism about their effectiveness.disappear under the Governments new local One respondent pursuing a similargovernment reorganisation agenda aimed at approach to Coventry said: We have heavilydisbanding all two-tier council areas. invested in a grow our own programme withWithout a fundamental shift in funding, the aim of reducing the legal teams reliancecouncils may soon reach a breaking point on locumshowever, this is challenging duewhere legal teams are no longer sustainable '