The Bevan Brittan LLP team is rated by the market for the breadth of its practice; it has worked with over 300 local authorities around the country. It advises on a comprehensive range of work from regeneration and procurement to assisting on new ways to raise finance in order to provide key services. It also assists on local government governance and reorganisations, often in cases where the authority is in financial distress. The team, which is led by David Hutton in Bristol, includes Steven Smith, Virginia Cooper and Judith Barnes, who is based in Leeds. 'Strong negotiator' Nadeem Arshad is also a key member of the team and is especially noted for his expertise in the waste industries.

The 'consistently reliable' national offering at Pinsent Masons LLP  includes  real estate, housing, planning, commercial structuring and governance.  It advises on issues in the areas of education, health, energy and IT in conjunction with its understanding of political or regulatory factors. Anne Bowden heads the practice and has a focus on regeneration/housing projects and new funding, and Scot Morrison is especially skilled in structuring public sector joint venture vehicles and partnership structures in relation to property/regeneration schemes and procurement matters. Didar Dhillon has advised on large-scale projects and regional investment funds and real estate partner Nicholas Berry is also noted for his work with local authorities.

The team at Trowers & Hamlins LLP is especially skillful in relation to local authorities' challenges in financing the provision of public services. In addition to advising on a range of regeneration/housing projects, it assists on developing new ways for local authorities to work together to deliver services, including shared service arrangements and wholly owned trading companies. The team is also well versed in local authority powers, finance and procurement rules, state aid and competition law. James Hawkins heads the national team and has a track record in PPPs relating to environmental/waste services and regeneration projects. The highly experienced Helen Randall  has a background as an in-house local government advisor and Scott Dorling  is the national head of the public sector housing practice. In Birmingham,  Amardeep Gill advises on a range of commercial/PPP matters. Consultant Ian Doolittle  provides expertise in regeneration and housing projects.

A substantial group at Ashfords LLP provides multi-disciplinary services to local authorities in London and elsewhere, many of whom are long-standing clients, and it is on a large number of panels. In addition to housing, regeneration and IT projects, it provides expertise on areas ranging from governance and state aid to corporate matters and civil and criminal disputes. Elizabeth Gibson heads the services and Paul Butterworth provides expertise on complex regeneration and development projects, social housing and public finance. Senior associate Lucy Woods assists local authorities and central government departments on various corporate and outsourcing projects and Andrew Rothwell is highly rated for his real estate advice.

BDB Pitmans (Bircham Dyson Bell merged with Pitmans in late 2018) has an impressive national practice, especially in areas of transport, regeneration projects and clean air/emissions matters. Mark Challis heads the department and David Mundy leads the practice area - he is a Roll A Parliamentary Agent and his expertise spans development schemes, public procurement and state aid and broad administrative law matters. Also a Roll A Parliamentary Agent, Nick Evans advises on major  infrastructure projects in the transport, energy, water and waste sectors. Angus Walker also has a focus on these sectors and 'stand out' Tom Henderson handles infrastructure planning. Senior associate Rahul Bijlani  is noted; he acted for Transport for London on numerous extensions and variations of London's congestion charging regime.

Based in Nottingham, Peter Ware and Richard Barlow lead the Browne Jacobson LLP practice, which is valued for its ability to bring together a range of expertise to large projects. Ware's experience includes acting for a group of local authorities that established as one of the first pooled LGPS funds in the country. Stephen Matthew handles major procurements, infrastructure projects and joint ventures, as does Nick Hurley who has focused of late on regeneration projects. Anja Beriro acts for both public and private sector clients on procurements including for IT. The team also advises on matters such as state aid, planning and environmental law, and health and safety issues.

The team at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP attracts high-value regeneration/housing and infrastructure work combined with related funding deals. Andrew Yates specialises in these matters and counts the likes of the Greater London Authority and Homes England among his clients. Other key team members include Lesley-Anne Avis (regeneration and development projects, JVs and funding); Tessa Kimber (regeneration and developments and transport infrastructure) and senior consultant Alan Aisbett, who has decades of experience advising on PPPs, real estate/affordable housing and outsourcing matters.

The Bristol-based team at Burges Salmon LLP offers an impressive array of skills to a national client base spanning corporate, procurement and infrastructure matters and has notable expertise in local authority pensions matters and the provision of children's services. Gary Soloman has a focus on regeneration and compulsory purchase work; John Houlden's work includes procurement, state aid and European funding matters and Tom Dunn  and Gareth Malna advise on funding and investment funds. Marcus Harling is the lead advisor to Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP's public law expertise includes advising local authorities on areas such as procurement - Jackie Heeds  is noted for her infrastructure procurement expertise. Core team members Bridgette Wilcox, Paul Pugh and Huw Jones are based in Cardiff.

Sharpe Pritchard LLP provides an extensive range of expertise to local authorities throughout the country. Roseanne Serrelli specialises in procurement, especially relating to large-scale IT projects and John Sharland's broad experience ranges from PPP and PFI contracts and procurement law to governance and social housing issues. Julia Rudin, who co-heads the team with Serrelli and is the managing partner, oversees work in relation to regeneration, including the establishment of housing companies and delivery vehicles for property development. Aside from housing, the team advises on the financing and delivery of services including water, dealing with waste and education.

Based in Liverpool, Simon Goacher heads the substantial Weightmans LLP national public law team. He is noted for being especially adept in the areas of governance and vires issues and the practice is known for its handling of investigations, many of which are high-profile. John Riddell in Leicester handles litigation, judicial reviews and advisory work for local authorities while Clive Bleasdale advises on a range of real estate matters. The team also provides employment-related expertise; Mark Leach acts for local authorities on equal pay disputes and the team is also home to expertise in commercial, procurement and finance matters.

The team at Addleshaw Goddard offers a host of services to local authorities in connection with regeneration and redevelopment work, transport projects, outsourcing contracts (including ICT contracts), financing and refinancing.  Mike O’Connor and Andrew Pettinger lead the practice and Richard Goodfellow, who heads the infrastructure, projects and energy group, handles major transactions that include PPPs, project financing and renewables matters. Rob Thompson also has a focus on energy as well as the waste and health sectors.

Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP offers a broad range of services to its clients, often providing a local authority with expertise in multiple practice areas. Its skills extend to PPPs, construction, real estate and planning and it has a specialism in company set-ups, for example the establishment of a National Federation of Local Authority Trading Companies. Team head Olwen Dutton is especially known for his expertise in all facets of governance and investigations; Mark Cook  has a wealth of experience in PPP matters and Stuart Evans advises on planning issues.

The team at Bates Wells is well know for its specialisms in advising local government auditors and advising in relation to mutuals. It has advised on audits in relation to over 40 local authorities, including on some high-profile cases such as the budget deficit of Northamptonshire Council. It advises public sector mutuals and spin-out organisations who are using such vehicles to provide key public services. Abbie Rumbold and Melanie Carter are the experts in these areas, together with Emma Dowden-Teale and Augustus Della-Porta, who also bring charity/social enterprise and social care expertise.

Dentons has some long-established local authority clients such as the Greater London Authority, Essex County Council and Transport for London, and has a focus on large-scale regeneration projects. Stephen Ashworth is valued for providing 'a comprehensive service' and other key team members specialise in real estate (Virginia Glastonbury) and strategic acquisitions and disposals as part of redevelopment projects (Roland Gray). Bryan Johnstone handles real estate disputes and counsel Mark Bassett is a lead on public procurement work.

Mark Whittaker and Perry Hill head a practice at DWF that handles a wide range of contentious cases for county and district councils and London boroughs where councils' liability is in issue. The claims range from personal injuries and professional negligence, to human rights and privacy breaches, and may relate to decisions in areas such as construction projects. The team is skilled in dealing with the insurance aspects of such claims together with the  establishment of insurance-based funds. Caroline Sanders  is also a noted team member for this work.

Market sources acknowledge Gowling WLG for the quality of its work, including on large regeneration projects. Procurement and outsourcing are Sarah Sasse's core areas with a focus on IT outsourcing - she co-leads the team with Michael Luckman who is based in Birmingham. Richard Beckingsale provides the real estate and joint venture projects expertise, and Giles Clifford has extensive experience in rail/transport and urban regeneration work, and related public-private partnerships. Health/the NHS, housing, leisure, waste and defence are some of the sectors in which it works and it offers a comprehensive range of disciplines, including corporate, intellectual property, governance and employment.

Winckworth Sherwood LLP's team head, Joanna Bussell, handles public-private partnerships in respect of outsourcings, especially in the leisure and culture sectors, areas that the practice is especially known for. Simon Randall CBE has extensive experience advising both local authorities and housing associations on all aspects of housing projects and joint ventures.

At Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP five lawyers are the regional or London team heads: Martin Stacey (London), Iain Greenshields (London/Newcastle),   Jonathan Bower (Bristol/London), Will Fraser (London) and Mark Owen  (Leeds/London). The team advises on major regeneration and redevelopment schemes involving house building, commercial, leisure and education schemes. It also advises on State Aid-compliant funding and procurement matters, and is noted for its specialism in district heating schemes.

Madeleine Davitt leads Davitt Jones Bould's national practice, which advises on a range of development and regeneration projects. Its work relates to commercial investments, commercial acquisitions and sales, and various housing schemes. It also advises council-owned investment companies. Robin de Wreede  and Sean Bulman are two of the senior lawyers who advise on commercial property, investments and planning matters. John Qualtrough  and Kevin Fry, who is noted for his real estate work, are other core team members.

A substantial offering at Freeths LLP comprises numerous offices around the country that advise on a broad range of development and regeneration projects, including mixed-use constructions, shopping centres and investment transactions. It provides planning, environment and real estate expertise in these areas, and more broadly also advises on areas such as tax and property litigation. Nathan Holden is a key contact in Birmingham and Stephen Pearson is noted for his broad expertise, which includes employment law. Some of the key team members include Ian Rowson and Clive Pearce for real estate, and Robert Bruce and Jennifer Roe for planning.