“The County Council is a diverse and inclusive place to work which creates an atmosphere which is quite different from most private law firms.”
Lucy Adams is a Senior Solicitor and Team Lead at Warwickshire Legal Services (WLS) and joined Warwickshire County Council in September 2020. Lucy already had a successful career under her belt as a specialist clinical negligence Solicitor after almost 20 years in private practice, before starting a new stage of her career in local government with WLS in the Planning and Litigation team.
Speaking about the variety of the work, Lucy said: “In the Planning and Litigation team I have been able to get involved in a whole range of legal matters, from drafting and negotiating highway agreements, advising internal clients on highways and rights of way issues, to drafting traffic regulation orders and street works licenses.
“I have also been able to work on some particularly interesting cases, including an HS2 appeal, a claim against a property owner for failing to comply with a statutory notice (served under section 149 of the Highways Act 1980), and a complex construction dispute in relation to a large building in the county with many complicating issues”.
“A particular highlight was my first s278 agreement, an agreement the County Council enters with other parties regarding the public highways it is responsible for, which involved eight different parties and wide ranging legal and constitutional issues which took nearly two years to resolve. It was a complex project and relied heavily on developing good working relationships and being up to date with the relevant law and Council requirements in order to be completed.”
When Lucy first joined the Planning and Litigation team, she had no prior experience of planning, highways law, or prosecutions. However, employees at WLS are continuously supported and encouraged to take on new challenges during their career, and Lucy was actively supported in developing the specialist knowledge and expertise required through on-the-job experience and training.
“At WLS there are always opportunities to get involved and learn about different areas of law. I enjoy working in local government because I find the political aspect of the work and understanding how the Council operates fascinating. Moreover, I know that the work the County Council does really helps our local communities, and this gives me a great sense of satisfaction to know that we are making a positive difference to the lives of real people.”
Lucy’s role has also provided her with other great learning and professional development opportunities: “Outside of planning and litigation work, I have clerked panels sitting on school admissions appeals and independent review panel hearings. I have also undertaken multiple internal reviews of the Council's responses to requests for information under the Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation, and acted as one of three mentors in Legal Services to mentor and support trainee solicitors during their training contract.”
Lucy finds working for the County Council quite different from working in private practice: “The County Council is a diverse and inclusive place to work which creates an atmosphere which is quite different from most private law firms. We have a healthy work-life balance as staff are not expected to respond to emails or join meetings on non-working days. I also enjoy that we don’t have an individual annual costs target, and that time recording targets are a lot more manageable without having to work long hours to achieve them.”
Despite joining the County Council during the pandemic when many council staff were working at home, Lucy found WLS staff to all to be incredibly supportive and friendly: "I was helped to deal with the challenges of working from home by having a really supportive team leader, and colleagues who were readily available with plenty of help and advice." Lucy has also worked with colleagues in other teams within WLS who have all been willing to collaborate and share their knowledge and expertise.
This year Lucy has become the co-lead of the Planning and Litigation Team, and now has four direct reports. She explains: “I’ve been given opportunities to take on people management roles, trainee mentor and now co-team lead, within a relatively short time of working at the Council. This has helped me to develop my people management skills and I’ve found I really enjoy helping more junior staff to develop and learn.”
At Warwickshire County Council, employees are continuously given the opportunity to explore and further their career, and being responsible for the diverse needs of the county means there are a variety of opportunities for everyone. If you are someone who is prepared to get stuck in, who wants to do the best job possible, and who approaches everything with passion and purpose, then view our current vacancies at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/jobs
To find out more about Warwickshire Legal Services, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wls