About LGG

Our board

DUDLEY LEWIS – LGG director of training

Dudley was admitted as a Solicitor in 1972. He has worked in Local Government or been associated with it for over 40 years, most of the time when employed at Deputy or Chief Officer level, and was City Clerk of Bristol from 1984 until 1996.

He has been President of Bristol Law Society and National Chairman of the Law Society's Local Government Group and is now the Director of its annual national weekend school and conference and Director of Training at LGG Training (LGG Ltd). He is a member of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors.

He has his own Legal, Management, Training and Local Government Consultancy and has worked with various local authorities, the Audit Commission and voluntary bodies such as the Mary Rose Trust. He is a Trustee and Vice Chairman of Bristol (Municipal) Charities, Chairman of a Training Trust Company and a Director of the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. He is a public sector consultant with Walker Morris, Solicitors, where he is involved with many aspects of local government work, business and practice management. He is a registered Lexcel consultant and is associated with Iken Business Ltd which is a computer software and business management company.

MARIA MEMOLI – LGG director

Maria Memoli worked for Wiltshire County Council and Bath City Council before moving into private practice, firstly as a legal executive and then as a qualified solicitor. Returning to the public sector, Maria held solicitor and head of legal services positions with areas of responsibility encompassing democratic and member services, elections, electoral registration and local land charges. Maria worked at Kennet District Council before setting up her own company Local Governance Limited.

NIGEL SNAPE - LGG director

Nigel Snape is Head of Legal & Governance at Malvern Hills District Council. He is a past Chairman and currently Treasurer of Solicitors in Local Government. Nigel has spent the whole of his legal career in local government; following articles at South Lakeland District Council (yes, he's that old that he had articles rather than a training contract!) Nigel moved to Malvern in 1986 where he has had a variety of roles from assistant solicitor through to his current position.

IAN SPAFFORD - LGG director

Ian Spafford is head of community services and civil litigation at Leeds City Council and has a local government legal career spanning three decades. At Leeds, he heads a unit of over 50 staff including 20 solicitors serving the interests of a 700,000 population.

He began his local authority career in 1972 with articles at Sunderland County Borough Council and then at Sunderland Met District before being admitted as a solicitor in 1976 and progressing to the role of senior solicitor. In 1987 Ian joined Gateshead MBC as assistant director of legal and administrative services and ten years later joined Leeds City Council.

Ian Spafford was born in Hull and graduated from Newcastle University. Outside of the law, Ian is a lay member of the General Medical Council Fitness to Practice Panels and a trustee/director of After Adoption (Yorkshire) Limited.

PETER RHODES – LGG company secretary

Now semi-retired Peter Rhodes has enjoyed a long career in law, rising from clerk in a firm of Chester solicitors to head of law at Liverpool City Council. Peter is currently company secretary of LGG and of the Fire Support Network. He also continues a life-long passion for rugby by serving as vice president, secretary and honorary solicitor of Cheshire RFU.

More about LGG

Speaking for LGG

LGG events attract some of the finest speakers from the legal world - barristers, solicitors, senior figures in local and central government, opinion formers and sector specialists.

Together they help us create and deliver an annual programme of conferences and seminars designed to provide the public sector legal professional with the most up-to-date and informed comment and debate on a wide range of topics. In addition, these events give speakers a forum to share their views and ideas and also provide significant networking and new business opportunities.

If you are interested in becoming an LGG speaker please contact us on
01483 275577.

Course focus

Housing Law Basic Survival Guide