News

Sponsorship On Offer

This year the EM Lawshare partner firms will be offering EM Lawshare members sponsorship of £1,400 per place, with mentoring during the course, for 2 places on the Law Society’s Local Government Diploma. The course fee is £1,600 so we are asking the successful candidates to make a contribution of £200 to their course fee.

We are pleased to let you know that this year the Law Society has amended the eligibility criteria and for the first time the course is also open to Chartered Legal Executives.

The Diploma is a well regarded and widely recognised qualification for those working in the local government world. However it should not be undertaken lightly as it involves a significant time commitment over an academic year; the Law Society estimates seven hours a week.

Sponsors

The places are being sponsored by:

  1. Member firm Browne Jacobson
  2. Member firms Bevan Brittan, Freeths, Geldards, Sharpe Pritchard and Weightmans

Fran Whyley, Senior Solicitor at Gedling Borough Council, finished the course in 2014 and commented:

“I have recently completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Local Government Law. The requirements of the course were to prepare 3 projects over the course of the academic year and sit 2 exams at the end of the year. I must confess that working pretty much full time, I found the Course demanding both in terms of its content and the time needed to do it justice, that said, I found my study throughout the year to be very beneficial to my day job as a Local Authority Lawyer. The course gave me a much broader understanding of the workings of a Local Authority and the legal issues dealt with by both Unitary and District Councils. Having trained predominantly in Criminal law, I found the education this course offered was invaluable. My exam technique may have been a little rusty, but pass or fail, this has been a very worthwhile experience and I would recommend anyone who works in the field of Local Government Law to consider going for this diploma.”

Application Process

The Prospectus and Application form are available on the Law Society’s website. Please read these documents carefully as they include details on:

If you want to be considered for one of the sponsored places you must let us know by emailing the following details to Fiona Prichard (fiona.pritchard@freeths.co.uk) by noon on Wednesday 21 June 2017:

The successful candidates will be selected on the basis of the views of the EM Lawshare Management Panel representatives and representatives of the sponsoring panel firms. They reserve the right to consult with the candidate’s line manager and authority colleagues as to the candidate’s commitment to the qualification and the benefits to be derived from the diploma both by the candidate and their employer. The criteria to be used will include:

Applicants

  1. Must have at least two years post qualification experience.
  2. Must have been working in Local Government for at least one year.
  3. Must demonstrate how they will share their learning with their colleagues.
  4. Must demonstrate a commitment to a career in Local Government.
  5. Must have the support of their line manager.
  6. Must demonstrate how it will help in their current and future roles.

The selection decision will be final. Applicants may be required to attend a meeting with representatives from EM Lawshare and the panel firms. Date to be arranged.

Enquiries

If you have any questions please email Fiona Pritchard (fiona.pritchard@freeths.co.uk) or Stuart Leslie, EM Lawshare Co-ordinator (sl.emlawshare@yahoo.com).