According to the Law Society, there were 4,304 solicitors registered last year, working in local government. Taking into account the number of legal executives and barristers the overall number of lawyers is a lot higher.

Lawyers are attracted to working in local government for a number of reasons, whether it is to make a difference to their local community or to enjoy the variety of legal work local authority employment can offer.

Most will be looking for a career structure; others will aspire to attain the most senior role in the organisation as the chief executive. Even before the financial cuts in local authority funding resulted in flatter management structures, reducing the number of posts across the organisation, including those of lawyers, there was a notable absence of lawyers being appointed to the top job.

In the past, lawyers were routinely appointed to chief executive roles. The reality is that such appointments had diminished to the point that in some authorities the most senior lawyer does not have a seat at the corporate management board.