Local Government
Full range of legal support services for local and public
authorities.
The services provided by local authorities are
unique in their composition and complexity. Different departments
operate both public and private sector models, and are subject to a
correspondingly wide array of regulations and responsibilities.
Weightmans' Local Government team are experts
in helping local authorities to manage these responsibilities. As
one of the country's leading public sector legal practices, we work
with many County, Metropolitan, Unitary and District Councils,
where we have a successful track record of local delivery, based on
providing efficient service and best value.
Our team of lawyers have hands-on, in-house
experience of working in the public sector. This gives us an
understanding of the issues you have to face as a local authority,
and our constant aim is to work with you to provide practical
solutions to your problems.
We provide a specialist defendant litigation
service for handling all types of claims including motor, public
liability (including environmental) and employers' liability
(including disease and indemnity). We have considerable experience
in handling some of the more sensitive and/or high profile claims
you may be required to deal with, such as bullying, failure to
educate and abuse.
As well as defending such claims, we are
skilled in handling the media interest that they sometimes attract.
We also advise on risk management strategies, both generally and in
connection with specific claims. One of our Partners has written
the authoritative textbook “Local Authority Liability” and we are
the legal advisers to ALARM, which affords us real insight into the
issues that your members and employees have to face.
Whilst we encourage a commercial, cost
effective and pragmatic approach to claims, we also recognise the
financial constraints and policy considerations that you have to
consider, and tailor our service accordingly.
We place the people we work for and the people
who work for us at the heart of everything we do, operating a
genuine team ethic to ensure you receive consistent support. We are
LEXCEL accredited, and our commitment to electronic case management
assures the quality of everything we do. Your work will be handled
by people who know their subject thoroughly, and who are fully
supported by a dedicated know-how team.
One of our key differentiators as a legal
practice is that we go beyond the routine at every opportunity. We
seek to work in partnership with you and use our relationship as a
springboard for improvement. In this regard, we provide access to
our research facilities, help with professional training, arrange
secondments and support with staff development, enabling your
officers to innovate, develop and improve performance.