Our experience in advising public sector clients
With a proud history of advising public sector clients, our team’s experience spans insurance claims handling, public and employer liability litigation, representation at Inquests, real estate, planning and agricultural advice, debt recovery services and more generalised public law advice.
Our legal advisers have a wealth of experience in working for both central and local government, which has been drawn together to offer a dedicated service to public sector clients.
Panel appointments
We are members of a number of public sector panels including:
• The Treasury Solicitors Department
• A major metropolitan Police Authority
• The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Local Authority Clients
We have a long standing history of acting for local authorities including East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council and other district councils, as well as having in-depth experience of regulatory work, acting for our own regulator, The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as Intervention Agents.
Challenges to the Public Sector
In light of government reviews and the current economic climate, we recognise that the public sector faces a period of financial restraint and the impact on local and central government will be significant, focussing attention on the maximisation of revenue, reduction of costs and the further aggregation and reorganisation of services and resources.
Examples of our work
Liability Claims
For more than 20 years, we have worked for East Sussex County Council, defending personal injury claims brought against the authority and provide both a claims handling and full litigation service together with advice in respect of negligence claims, costs and ADR.
Whilst the majority of the claims are public liability and highway related, we also act on a significant amount of employer liability claims, mainly brought by teachers and carers in social services.
Our complex case experience is demonstrated by a group of claims brought by Claimants’ with learning difficulties or Downs Syndrome, who pursued claims for damages as a result of their suffering significant and complex internal injuries, following the consumption of a corrosive liquid
ADR Services
Our specialised team of mediators, ‘mediatesouth’, forms the ADR branch of our Dispute Resolution Team. We are fully aware of the Government’s commitment for its Departments and Agencies to use ADR and wherever possible we advocate ADR as a cost effective and amicable way of resolving conflict and minimising costs to protect public funds.
Real Estate
Our considerable experience in property work has been built up by acting for a number of local authorities. For the past 5 years, we have dealt with Eastbourne Borough Council’s Right to Buy cases, both freehold and leasehold, some of which includes rural property and land.
Planning
Our experience includes acting for West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council. Our lead planning individual, Linda Saunders, has extensive planning and local authority experience, having trained with East Sussex County Council, and being appointed Planning Solicitor for Brighton & Hove Council, before working as a senior planning solicitor for Mid-Sussex District Council. She has built up planning experience with various local authorities including Brighton and Hove, Lewes Eastbourne, Wealden, Horsham Tandridge, Mid-Sussex, and East and West Sussex County Councils.
For further information on our public sector experience please contact Michael Mulcare on 01273 223239 or by email.
