Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31October 2016 LocalGovernmentLawyer 12 The Dispute Resolution 2016 survey suggests that local authorities should expect an increasing number of disputes across a range of practice areas. Extra resources are unlikely to be forthcoming, however. So what exactly can heads of legal and senior disputes lawyers do to chart a way forward? One of the key steps identified by delegates attending the Local Government Lawyer roundtable is to manage the relationship with client departments carefully. Jayne Middleton-Albooye, Head of Legal Services at Enfield Council, said her department has regular meetings with internal clients to get an idea of what is coming through the pipeline. There has also been a greater emphasis on client education, particularly with regard to issues such as how files and witness statements are presented to the lawyers. Templates have saved time and money, she added. “At the outset, they thought we were being obstructive but we got through to them that we can’t take cases which don’t cover the basics and that situation has improved,” reported Middleton-Albooye. Ensuring that client departments know when they do and do not need to involve the legal team can be a challenge. “A perception can grow that legal is expensive and should be avoided but we have had experience of proceedings taking place because they should have come to us earlier,” said Middleton-Albooye. Encouraging clients to come to legal may seem antithetical in the current climate, but the long-term outcome may be less work in future, said another participant: “If you have a better relationship with the client departments it actually means less work because you have got better processes in place.” For shared legal services, the fact that client departments in member authorities can take significantly different approaches At a roundtable held to discuss the results of the survey, senior lawyers considered how local authorities can best deal with growing litigation caseloads and reduced resources. Philip Hoult reports. Litigation tactics Attendees ● Derek Bedlow, Publisher, Local Government Lawyer ● Jayne Bolas, Team Leader (Contentious), Mid Kent Legal Services ● Tim Briton, Litigation Solicitor, Gateshead Council and Lead Officer for Litigation and Licensing for Lawyers in Local Government ● Che Fung Choi, member of the family team, Thomson Reuters ● Tanya Corsie, Director and Chief Operating Officer, Iken ● Ian de Prez, Head of Litigation and Solicitor Advocate, Suffolk Coastal District Council ● Philip Hoult, Editor, Local Government Lawyer ● Kirsten Maslen, Head of Government & Academic Legal, UK & Ireland, Thomson Reuters ● Helen McGrath, Development Officer, Lawyers in Local Government ● Jayne Middleton-Albooye, Head of Legal Services, London Borough of Enfield ● Ruksana Munir, Principal Litigation Lawyer, LGSS Law ● Heather Stevens, Barrister, Mid Kent Legal Services ● David Wong, Litigation Solicitor, London Borough of Bexley