Nichola Vine - Head of Legal and Governance
Nichola joined WLS in 2018, previously working at Wright Hassall as a Partner. During her decades of experience as a solicitor, she has worked Eversheds, Beechcroft, Gateley, and other local authorities. Nichola qualified in 1998 and specialises in projects, construction, procurement, information and data protection, and governance. In her current role as Strategic and Commissioning Manager for Legal and Democratic Services, she advises all levels of the Council in relation to governance matters, constitutional requirements, construction and projects in relation to procurement. Nichola is COLP and Director of WLS Trading Ltd.
Caroline Gutteridge - Legal Service Manager - Commercial and Regulatory
Previously working for both public and private sector organisations, Caroline joined Warwickshire County Council (WCC) in 2013. Leaving her role as Planning Team Lead and Senior Solicitor, Caroline joined the Legal Services Management Team in 2022 as Delivery Lead for the Commercial and Regulatory Team, and specialises in Planning, Highways, Statutory Reviews, and Judicial Reviews. She routinely acts as legal adviser to Police and Crime Panel, Planning Committees and Licensing Panels, alongside defending WCC’s external clients on Planning Inquiries.
Sarah Cowen - Legal Service Manager - Corporate
Sarah joined Warwickshire County Council in 2016, having previously worked as a solicitor in private practice. Sarah joined the Legal Services Management Team in August 2021 as Delivery Lead for the Corporate Teams having previously been a Senior Solicitor and Team Lead for the Employment Team. Sarah specialises in Employment, Pensions and Governance and acts a legal adviser to all areas of the council including Committees, Fire and Rescue and Warwickshire Pension Fund. Sarah also advises external clients including Warwickshire Police and District Councils.
Tim Seedhouse - Legal Service Manager in Practice Management
Tim joined Warwickshire Legal Services (WLS) in 2012 and has been in his current role since July 2024. With over a decade of experience in legal services, Tim specialises in legal case management systems, management and business information reporting, workflow development, and finance.
Tim has led the transformation of WLS’ finance and systems management over several years, building a multitude of reporting tools and legal workflows to significantly improve service delivery. His career has involved collaboration with both corporate and local authority legal teams, working with experienced and committed lawyers and clients alike to discover innovative solutions that resolve important and often complex matters.
Ann Hume - Legal Service Manager – Young People
Ann Hume joined Warwickshire County Council in 2018, bringing a wealth of experience from working in private practice and local authority. Specialising in family law, she has represented parents, children, guardians, and local authorities, and was a member of the Law Society Children’s Panel.
Ann has progressed in WLS from Technical Expert (Advocacy) to Team Leader, and in 2024 became Legal Services Manager for the Young People’s Legal Services team. She holds a law degree and postgraduate solicitor qualification from Nottingham Trent University, as well as an LLM in Advanced Legal Practice and is qualified as a Collaborative Lawyer.
Charlotte Page – Legal Service Manager – Young People
Charlotte joined Warwickshire County Council in 2011 after originally starting her career in private practice. She currently leads a team of solicitors within Warwickshire Legal Services as a Legal Services Manager and Senior Child Care Solicitor.
Charlotte is a strong and persuasive advocate and has led the Council on complex matters such as child death, anti-terrorism, child abduction, sexual abuse, non-accidental injury, and fabricated illness matters. In addition to her in-house role, she co-chairs the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Justice Family Board and provides lecturing to external agencies to include the Judicial College.
Guy Darvill - Legal Service Manager - Adult Education and Debt
Guy joined Warwickshire County Council in 2016, having previously worked at Staffordshire County Council and originally qualifying in private practice. He has extensive experience in education law, representing at Special Educational Needs Tribunal and clerking Independent Exclusion Review Panels, and advising on admission appeals, Home-to-School Transport Reviews, and general educational duties. He handles ombudsman matters, Upper Tribunal appeals, and judicial review proceedings, and trains panel members and council officers.
Guy has worked for schools to advise on family proceedings, social media, contract disputes, defamation, complaints, and more. He also brings considerable knowledge of local government law and transformation projects concerning libraries, youth services, children’s centres, and non-statutory adult social care provision.
