Kent County Council's legal team is to launch its own trainee programme, with the move coming as the local authority eyes a series of white label and cross-selling initiatives.

Geoff Wild, Kent's director of governance and law, said the council's legal services department plans to take on four trainees a year from the autumn.

Trainees will complete seats across the department's main practice areas of property, planning & highways, contracts & commercial, litigation & employment and social welfare, as well as potentially carrying out secondments with other local authorities and partner organisations around the UK.

Wild will link with higher education institutions including the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich in a bid to encourage local legal talent to apply for the positions.

"I believe passionately in local government lawyers being among the best in the field, and the equals and counterparts of anyone out there if they're properly developed and trained," said Wild. "Unless we have people honing their skills in local government, we're going to get a diminishing pool of talent.

"There are not only ethical and professional reasons for doing this, but considerable financial benefits in investing in a strong pool of government lawyers. It's a triple win for the lawyers, the standard of legal advice we will provide and the taxpayers of Kent."

Separately, Wild, whose legal team operates as a distinct profit-generating business in its own right, is looking to provide legal advice to NHS trusts as well as providing white label legal services to other local authorities and law firms.