Legal Services Lincolnshire

About Legal Services Lincolnshire

Legal Services Lincolnshire is a shared service between the county council and six district and borough councils, created over 10 years ago. 

We are a specialist provider of legal services to the public sector. We give practical advice clients can understand. 

Legal Services Lincolnshire can assist our clients in addressing legislative, economic and political developments, driving improvement in services, value for money and delivering change.

We have vast experience of supporting major projects and coordinating our expertise to provide a seamless service.

Our team consists of experts who have worked for public bodies for many years. We also have lawyers with considerable private practice knowledge. This allows us to satisfy the need of our broad public sector client base.  We understand how the public sector operates and what are the demands put on services in terms of raising performance levels while keeping costs down.

We cover the full range of public law activity including:

  • property law from simple transactions to complex school or economic regeneration developments
  • civil litigation from debt collection and PI work to judicial review proceedings
  • education law
  • adult social care law
  • mental health law
  • children's safeguarding work, including advising the local Children's Safeguarding Board
  • adoption and fostering law
  • highways law
  • planning law including appeal work
  • enforcement including trading standards, environmental health, planning and anti-social behaviour
  • information law
  • contract and commercial law
  • local government law, governance and the ethical regime including election law
  • employment law

Adult social care

The adult social care team offers work in the following areas:

  • community care law – assessments, eligibility and service provision
  • mental capacity law including Court of Protection work and deprivation of liberty cases
  • mental health Law
  • adult safeguarding
  • charging and funding of care
  • disputes about ordinary residence.

We are experienced in all matters concerning community care law. We are responsible for providing advice on statutory functions and representing the council in court proceedings. 

We regularly appear in the County Court, the Court of Protection and the High Court. 

We also provide assistance to other public bodies and authorities and assist with internal and external clients with any queries they may have.

Examples of work include:

  • extensive Court of Protection applications to safeguard adults at risk of harm and abuse and to resolve disputes in packages of care
  • applications to the Court of Protection to authorise deprivations of liberty in care packages
  • successful resolution of ordinary residence disputes including recovery of care costs

Childcare

We cover all areas of children's public law including safeguarding and adoption.

A high level of experience in the specialised area of public childcare law is a key feature of the childcare team. 

In addition, our individual members demonstrate a high level of commitment and dedication to their roles.

We have excellent working relationships with the local Court, judiciary and CAFCASS service and are highly respected within the legal community.

We have experience of working for other local authorities, having taken on conduct of several care proceedings cases for a neighbouring county council. The level of service provided by the team has been subject of praise from the client.

Our major client is Lincolnshire County Council's Children's Services directorate, judged by Ofsted to be an outstanding authority. 

Professionals within this area carry responsibility for statutory safeguarding and regulated services in relation to children living  in Lincolnshire and the team provides a high quality legal service in respect of those functions.

Civil litigation

The Civil Litigation team deals with a wide range of civil litigation matters including:

  • contractual and commercial disputes
  • debt recovery
  • judicial review
  • injunction applications
  • landlord and tenant disputes
  • trespasser claims
  • homelessness and housing related matters
  • property disputes
  • highways and public liability claims
  • employers liability claims

The team also provides advice in relation to highways policy from the claims perspective, and provides training  on  the  law and  witness  training  for those due to attend Court in related claims.


Examples of work include:

  • successfully obtained a long term injunction prohibiting the unlawful excavation of minerals.
  • successfully defended a judicial review claim in respect of a decision to grant funding to a highways infrastructure scheme.
  • acting for the tenant in a dispute regarding the operation of a break clause in a commercial lease.
  • acting in property and building related disputes concerning water ingress into buildings due to design and construction defects.
  • successfully obtained a possession order where a trespasser claimed an interest in the property.
  • obtaining significant sums in judgment orders against debtors.
  • successfully defended PL and EL claims to trial. 

Education

The team provides a full range of advice to local authorities, academies and maintained schools covering all aspects of education law including admissions and exclusions. The team also has particular expertise in Special Educational Needs and disability discrimination matters.

We have extensive experience in advising on matters within the education sector and have close relationships with our clients to provide a client focused, practical based advice service to meet their needs.

The area of work covered by the team includes:

  • advice on parental disputes, complaints and managing aggressive and challenging parents
  • advice on governor's powers and process including federations
  • representing academies and schools in disability discrimination claims
  • advice and representation to local authorities on appeals in the special educational needs tribunal in respect of Education, Health and Care Plans
  • administration and clerking services for both school admission appeals and exclusion reviews

We work closely with colleagues within other teams in Legal Services Lincolnshire to ensure access to highly specialised advice on matters including commercial disputes, property related matters and information governance issues to ensure a full service to academies and schools.

Employment

The team provides a full range of employment law services to local authorities, academies and maintained schools. This encompasses assistance ranging from:

  • issues regarding the employment contract
  • advice and drafting on policies and procedures
  • advice on all types of workforce matters including the application of TUPE
  • drafting and negotiations relating to the use of settlement agreements and the conduct of proceedings and advocacy in the employment tribunal.

We have extensive experience of employment advice within the local government sector and educational establishments. 

We have an excellent working knowledge of the constraints in managing employment matters within these sectors and provide a high quality, efficient and client focused service.

Examples of work include:

  • advice on the major insourcing of a client's services from an external contractor
  • advice on the restructure of a client's people management function
  • successfully obtained a deposit order in respect of an employment tribunal claim and subsequent strike out of the claims
  • advice on the drafting of new employment policies for a major client
  • attendance at judicial mediation which resulted in a successful conclusion of a contentious and high profile employment tribunal claim

Prosecutions

The team has extensive experience in local authority prosecutions covering planning, environmental crime, housing benefit fraud, housing, health and safety, trading standards, anti-social behaviour including civil injunctions, and other regulatory matters.

We can help with:

  • drafting enforcement policies
  • the use of surveillance powers by local authorities
  • advising on the evidence that is required for specific cases
  • helping first time witnesses to cope with the Court experience
  • advising on drafting charges as well as the advocacy that is required in contested hearings.


We have significant experience in advising and representing clients in applications relating to proceeds of crime, including obtaining a confiscation order against a defendant of over half a million pounds.

We can also provide training to officers on preparing prosecution files ready for proceedings.

Highways

The highways team offers a comprehensive service in all aspects of highways work including:

  • major new highways schemes
  • compulsory purchase orders
  • side road orders
  • public rights of way including definitive map modification orders and legal event orders
  • in-house conduct of public rights of way and public inquiries and public hearings
  • highways stopping up orders including in-house advocacy in the magistrates court
  • highway Act 1980 agreements including section 38 and section 278 and dedication agreements
  • planning agreements where Section 106 planning obligations involve highway contributions or mineral applications
  • obstructions and encroachments of the highway
  • tree and hedge issues
  • enforcement
  • easements
  • registration at land registry of highway land
  • historical archive research
  • in-house training on highways legal issues
  • land tribunals or land registry adjudication cases
  • village greens

Examples of work include:

  • Lincoln eastern bypass and Grantham southern relief road compulsory purchase and side road orders
  • public inquiries for DMMO and public footpath orders
  • public inquiries for compulsory purchase and side roads orders
  • title investigation for east west link road and subsequent compulsory and side road orders
  • village green inquiries

Planning

The planning team offers a comprehensive service in all aspects of planning, including:

  • in-house conduct of planning appeals and inquiries
  • planning and highway agreements
  • enforcement
  • waste management mining and minerals
  • listed buildings and conservation areas
  • alternative energy generation and storage
  • coastal protection, flooding and environmental issues
  • trees and hedge issues including high hedges, protected hedge legal issues, preservation orders and dangerous tree notices
  • article 4 directions
  • judicial reviews

Examples of work include:

  • successful planning appeal and public inquiry against a council's refusal of large scale development on a flood plain
  • community infrastructure levy advice
  • renewable energy developments
  • travellers and gypsies law
  • community benefit and section 106 agreements securing community led initiatives and benefits.

Property

The team advises on all aspects of property work in context of local authority statutory functions and requirements. 

We also provide advice on the application of legislation to our public sector clients, as relevant to property matters. Our property team prides itself on having experienced staff with extensive local government knowledge and expertise.

Our service encompasses the full range of transactional work including:

  • acquisitions
  • disposals
  • landlord and tenant issues
  • easements
  • covenants
  • variations and statutory transfers

We work with our clients to provide documentation and assistance for specific matters and projects and also in a more general supporting role. The team also provides support and legal advice on the implementation of specific transactions or projects.

Examples of work include:

  • landlord and tenant work and advice in connection with all functions of our client councils. For example, children centres, sports facilities, highways  depots, business or shop units and council housing.
  • transfers of sites and landlord and tenant work pursuant to change of school status.
  • property law support on economic regeneration projects.
  • property law support in relation to highways projects including dealing with land acquisition and compensation.
  • support in relation to flood alleviation projects and drainage schemes.
  • property law advice and support for major council projects and initiatives to include the blue light project; empty homes project and library and youth services initiatives.
  • acquisition of land in connection with all council functions and projects.
  • transfers of land and premises to and by our client councils including asset transfers; open space; affordable housing sites and properties.
  • grants of wayleaves, easements and licences.
  • right to buy transfers for our housing authority clients.
  • securing charges on land in relation to adult social care costs.
  • advice on covenants involving applications, enforceability, variation and discharge

Information governance

The Information Governance lawyers in the team provide expert advice on the application of information law to Lincolnshire County Council, districts councils, schools and academies, and to other external public bodies who engage our services.

The team has extensive expertise in:

  • advising clients on all aspects of information Law, including:
    • UK GDPR including responses to subject access requests
    • data protection Act 2018 (including responses to data subject access requests (SARS))
    • freedom of information act 2000
    • environmental information regulations 2004
  • advising clients on and also dealing with external information requests from other statutory bodies and organisations including the Information Commissioner's office, police, disclosure and barring service, office of the public guardian amongst others.
  • advising on complaints received by the council both corporate and statutory.

The application of information law is complex. The team has the specific expertise to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. We have the ability to draft legal advice, letters and reports in clear, plain english.

A member of the team acts as Lincolnshire County Council's single point of contact for the local government and social care ombudsman. We liaise with different client departments to collate information and draft responses for corporate complaints to the local government and social care ombudsman.

Commercial

Commercial lawyers in the team offer broad knowledge in commercial law particularly in the public sector.

The primary areas of work relate to contractual matters and we have extensive expertise in:

  • drafting of bespoke contracts over a wide spectrum ranging from grant funding agreements to suites of contracts in respect of complex project structures
  • negotiation of contract terms with public sector and private sector commercial entities
  • provision of general contractual and strategic project advice.

We developed a unique expertise in legal project management. We specifically seek to address client needs as a whole and deliver legal support through managing and co-ordinating legal requirements for the entirety of the project.

We offer specialist knowledge in EU procurement law and its application to public sector projects.

The commercial team provides advice and assistance in the following areas:

  • ICT (computer technology) 
  • adult social care
  • construction law
  • social housing
  • academy conversions
  • external funding applications and grant agreements
  • formation of corporate entities
  • general contractual matters

 
Examples of work  include:

  • SEND schools programme - drafting and negotiation of all building contracts and advising on all ancillary contractual and commercial matters in relation to the construction of a new SEND schools and the improvement and extension of others across Lincolnshire. This is one of the largest capital expenditure schemes undertaken by the Council in many years – in excess of £30 million.
  • advising on leading edge collaboration between Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, Lincolnshire Police and East Midlands Ambulance in the creation of one of the first tri-partite emergency services station in the UK.
  • Sleaford Moor Enterprise Project with North Kesteven District Council – assisting with development of procurement strategy and suitable contractual terms and conditions in procuring a partner for project management and design services for this multi million pound project.
  • West Lindsey District Council Crematorium - lead on construction contracts for project. One of the largest capital projects undertaken by West Lindsey District Council.

Governance

Legal Services offers a comprehensive service in all aspects of local authority governance.

Our Chief Legal Officer, Assistant Chief Legal Officers and Principal Lawyers all undertake work in this cross cutting area which include; 

  • local government law
  • acting in capacity as Monitoring officer and Deputy Monitoring Officer
  • advising on the constitution 
  • providing advice and support in respect of the standards regime to county council, district and borough councils and parish councils 
  • undertaking investigations into breaches of the code of conduct
  • advice and attendance at standards hearings and committees
  • provision of councillor training in relation to the code of conduct 
  • election law

We also have experience in the provision of training for councillors in relation to bias and pre-determination and ward member advocacy as well as one-to-one and parish council training following breaches of the code of conduct.

Licensing

The highways and planning team advises on all aspects of licensing.

Our areas of work include;

  • attendance and advice at taxi licensing hearings
  • attendance and advice in relation to all types of premises licensing hearings
  • gambling law – advice in respect of policy and attendance and advice at hearings 
  • zoo licensing
  • dog Breeding licensing
  • sex establishment licensing 
  • provision of advice in respect of licensing policies and consultations. 

We can also provide training to officers and members in relation to licensing hearings.  

We work closely with our colleagues within other teams to ensure access and representation in relation to any licensing matter appeals and information governance issues.