Can you assist with planning enforcement matters?

Yes. Legal advice can be provided on enforcement notices, appeals, and related litigation to ensure decisions are lawful, proportionate, and defensible.

What duties do councillors have regarding conflicts of interest?

Councillors must declare relevant interests and avoid bias when making decisions. Proper procedures help ensure meetings and decisions are legally valid.

How are FOI and data requests handled by councils?

FOI and data requests must be managed in line with statutory requirements. Legal advice helps ensure responses are compliant and defensible.

How are public sector legal fees usually structured?

Fees vary depending on scope and complexity. Options may include fixed fees for specific matters or retainer arrangements for ongoing legal support.

Home > Expertise > Local Government Law

Professional Local Government Law Firm

Q: When should a council seek judicial review?

A council should consider judicial review where a decision by a public body appears unlawful, irrational, or procedurally unfair. Early legal advice helps assess prospects, timing, and appropriate remedies.

Q: How do procurement challenges work?

Procurement challenges often begin with pre-action correspondence and may involve injunctions or court proceedings. Legal advice helps identify grounds, manage risk, and seek proportionate remedies.

Q: Do you advise on public-private partnerships?

Yes. Legal support is available for joint ventures and public-private partnerships, including drafting, risk allocation, and dispute resolution.

Q: Can urgent public sector legal advice be provided?

Yes. Urgent advice can be provided for time-sensitive matters such as injunctions, emergency procurement, and statutory deadlines.

Our local government lawyers and connected solicitors advise councils, public bodies, and organisations interacting with the public sector. We provide pragmatic legal solutions across planning, procurement, governance, regulatory compliance, and statutory duties — helping authorities and stakeholders manage risk and deliver lawful decisions.

Get a Call Back

Local Government Law

Experienced local government lawyers

Our public sector solicitors advise on complex statutory duties, administrative decision-making, and governance matters. We assist local authorities, arms-length bodies, contractors and third-party stakeholders with clear, practical local authority legal services that meet legal and policy requirements.

Ensuring Lawful Decision-Making

Our local government lawyers ensure that public body decisions meet legal, procedural, and ethical standards. We assess governance frameworks, policies, and statutory duties to help authorities act fairly, proportionately, and within their powers.

Strategic Public Sector Advice

As a leading public sector law firm, we assist with judicial reviews, procurement challenges, and regulatory investigations. Our approach combines precision and strategy, ensuring public bodies maintain transparency and accountability in every action.

Commercial and Regulatory Insight

Our local government law specialists provide practical guidance on contracting, compliance, and financial governance. We help clients structure agreements, manage partnerships, and resolve disputes while protecting public funds and statutory responsibilities.

Our Local Government Law Services

Governance & Constitutional Advice

We advise on standing orders, delegation of powers, meetings law, and governance frameworks for councils and committees. Our local government lawyers ensure decision-making structures are transparent, compliant, and legally defensible.

Judicial Review & Public Law Challenges

We represent authorities and organisations in challenges to public body decisions, ensuring fairness, legality, and procedural compliance. Our public sector law firm manages judicial review cases with precision, strategy, and strong advocacy.

Procurement & Contracting

Our team supports clients on public procurement rules, tender evaluations, and contract drafting to safeguard value for money. We also help resolve procurement disputes efficiently while maintaining compliance and protecting public interests.

Planning, Housing & Development Law

We advise and represent councils on planning applications, enforcement, compulsory purchase, and housing law. Our local authority legal services help manage projects lawfully and align decisions with planning policy and statutory duties.

Regulatory Compliance & Enforcement

Our public sector solicitors provide guidance on licensing, enforcement, and regulatory investigations. We assist with audits, statutory obligations, and compliance reviews to minimise legal risk and strengthen governance.

Community, Education & Social Care Issues

We offer legal advice on education, safeguarding, and social care duties under statutory frameworks. Our local government law specialists support local bodies in consultations, equality compliance, and community engagement.

Lawyers and connected Solicitors Advising the Public Sector

At Aldwych Legal, our local government solicitors and connected solicitors combine statutory insight with pragmatic legal strategy. We understand the pressures on public bodies — political oversight, budget constraints, and public scrutiny — and provide high-quality legal advice that helps organisations make defensible, proportionate decisions.

Each matter is led by experienced local government lawyers who deliver clear, practical guidance, robust representation in litigation and tribunals, and collaborative support with stakeholders and in-house teams. We act efficiently to protect public interests, maintain compliance, and resolve disputes with minimal disruption.

Our public sector law firm works closely with councils, regulatory agencies, and local partnerships to anticipate potential legal challenges and prevent escalation. By combining governance experience with technical legal precision, we ensure every action taken by a public authority aligns with its statutory duties and withstands scrutiny.

How We Work

Our Approach to Local Government Law Cases

At Aldwych Legal, we deliver local government legal services that are clear, timely, and aligned with statutory frameworks. Our local government solicitors focus on legality, accountability, and effective governance at every stage.

Rapid Legal Review

We begin with a focused assessment of legal issues, statutory powers, and risks so decisions can be made confidently and lawfully. Our local government lawyers act quickly to manage urgent matters such as procurement deadlines or potential judicial review risks.

Tailored Strategy

Each public sector case is approached with precision and balance. We design bespoke strategies — whether negotiation, resolution, or litigation — ensuring every action is proportionate, strategic, and
fully compliant.

Collaborative Case Management

We work closely with in-house teams, officers, and external experts to coordinate documents, evidence, and communication efficiently. Our public sector law firm delivers strong results while minimising disruption to ongoing operations.

Tailored Strategy

Clear Reporting & Risk Advice

We provide straightforward legal briefings and risk assessments that support informed decision-making. Our local authority legal services help clients maintain compliance and strengthen governance outcomes.

Strategic Local Government Issue Resolution

Frequently Asked Questions

When should a council seek judicial review?

A council should seek review if a decision by another public body is unlawful, irrational, or procedurally unfair. Our local government solicitors advise on merits and timings for judicial review.

How do procurement challenges work?

Procurement challenges usually start with pre-action negotiation and may proceed to injunctions or court claims. Our public sector solicitors guide authorities and bidders through the remedies and deadlines.

Can you assist with planning enforcement?

Yes. Our local government law specialists represent councils and landowners in enforcement notices, appeals and related litigation.

What legal exposure do councillors face?

Councillors have duties under governance and equality law; our local government lawyers advise on conflicts of interest, bias and lawful decision-making.

Do you advise on public-private partnerships?

We do. Our local authority legal services include drafting, risk allocation and dispute resolution for joint ventures and PPP arrangements.

How are data and FOI handled for local authorities?

We advise on data protection, subject access requests and FOI appeals, ensuring compliance with UK GDPR and information-rights obligations.

Can we use Aldwych Legal for emergency legal advice?

Yes. Our local government solicitors provide urgent advice for time-sensitive matters such as injunctions, emergency procurement or statutory deadlines.

How much do public sector legal services cost?

Costs vary by matter. We offer transparent estimates, fixed fees for discrete tasks, and tailored retainer arrangements for ongoing local authority legal services.

Recent Local Government Law Case Studies

Planning Permission Appeal Overturned For Nottingham Home Extension Case Study

Aldwych Legal: Industrial Pollution Case Secures Relief For Birmingham Residents

Defamation Defence and Public Law Resolution for Community Leader Bristol

Fifteen Kirklees Market Traders Challenge Council Over Local Restrictions Grant

Aldwych Legal Achieves Resolution in Planning Enforcement Dispute Case Successfully

Aldwych Legal Resolves Planning Permission Dispute: Bradford Resident Case Study

Featured In

Should a website visitor seek to ascertain the nature of our establishment, Aldwych Legal, it becomes essential for us to clarify the intricacies of our professional classification. Aldwych Legal is a legal consultancy, not a traditional solicitors’ firm. As an international legal consultancy and legal support organisation, we position ourselves distinctly apart from the conventional categorisation of a regulated solicitors’ practice. It is of paramount importance to transparently disclose that Aldwych Legal’s operational framework and support services remain independent of regulatory supervision by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Our multidisciplinary team consists of legally trained professionals who operate within the framework of unreserved legal activities permitted under the Legal Services Act 2007. Where a matter requires a reserved legal activity, we collaborate with, and where appropriate introduce clients to, carefully selected external solicitors and barristers from our professional network. These regulated practitioners operate under their own authorisation and regulatory obligations. Aldwych Legal continues to deliver high-calibre legal support, strategic advisory work, and comprehensive case preparation with the same diligence and rigour expected of any premier legal service provider, while maintaining full transparency regarding our regulatory status. For full details of our regulatory status and operating framework, please refer to our Legal Services Act 2007 page and our Terms & Conditions.