Westminster joins Kensington & Chelsea in backing merger of legal team with LGSS Law

The merger of alternative business structure LGSS Law with the legal teams at two London boroughs moved a step closer this week after the Cabinet at Westminster City Council backed the plans.

The Leadership Team at the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea had already approved the outline deal at a meeting last month.

Details of the plans first emerged in a report prepared ahead of that meeting on 19 October.

A business case noted that the shared legal service enjoyed high satisfaction levels among clients. However, it added that the merger with LGSS Law would address identified areas for improvement, enable the service to act for organisations with an affiliation with the private sector such as council joint ventures and deliver “a more rigorous and business-like experience for clients”.

The deal would provide access to “a tried and tested ABS vehicle”, it said. LGSS Law is owned by Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Central Bedfordshire Councils.

The merger, if implemented, will see staff at Westminster and RBKC transfer to LGSS Law under TUPE and become its London branch.

Quentin Baker, Director of LGSS Law, said: “I’m pleased we’ve crossed another milestone on the way to merger and subject to final negotiation of terms, we aim to complete the merger in December.”

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, the third member of the Tri-borough Shared Legal Service, will not be part of the new arrangements.