Devol Legal
Barrister-led regulatory consultancy for the public sector
We advise local authorities, regulators and public bodies on licensing, enforcement, markets, procurement and transformation. Advice that is correct in principle and workable in practice.
Slide 1 of 3: Barrister-led regulatory consultancy for the public sector
The practice
Public bodies rarely lack for legal opinion. What they lack is advice that survives contact with stretched teams, member scrutiny and a committee date that will not move.
Services
Eight areas, one discipline: advice that can be implemented
“Many advisers can explain the law. Fewer can explain how a lawful solution will operate under member oversight, public challenge and delivery constraints.”
How we work
A disciplined, practical approach
The aim is not to produce elegant documents for their own sake, but to help clients reach clearer, stronger and more defensible outcomes.
- 01
Understand
Every engagement begins with careful listening: the legal position, operational context, political sensitivities, stakeholder landscape and practical objective.
- 02
Analyse
We identify the core issue rather than the visible symptoms, including legal risk, governance weakness, process failure and arrangements that may no longer be fit for purpose.
- 03
Advise
Clear, actionable advice tailored to the circumstances. Where options exist, we explain the trade-offs. Where a course is not defensible, we say so plainly.
- 04
Deliver
Where required, we remain involved through implementation: drafting frameworks, refining governance documents and helping teams turn recommendations into working practice.
Who we help
Built around the people who carry the risk
Regulatory pressure is rarely felt evenly across an organisation. It concentrates on a small number of roles, usually the ones expected to give a defensible answer quickly.
Monitoring Officers and legal teams
Where a decision has to survive challenge, and the internal team needs a second view that is candid rather than reassuring.
Heads of Regulatory Services
Where the service is under pressure, the framework is dated, and change has to happen without losing statutory compliance.
Licensing managers and committee support
Where determinations need to be defensible and the process needs to be consistent from one hearing to the next.
Markets, town centre and public realm teams
Where trading arrangements have accumulated over decades and no longer match how the place is actually used.
Commissioning and procurement teams
Where the Procurement Act 2023 has changed the process and the internal machinery needs to catch up.
Combined authorities and arm's-length bodies
Where functions are shared, accountability is distributed, and the governance has to be legible to more than one organisation.
Case studies
Selected engagements
Including work Lee Vallender led in earlier roles, before he founded Devol Legal in 2025.
Brent LBC
Workforce Governance Compliance Framework
Redesigned governance framework across multiple policy areas with clearer accountability, training support and a stronger assurance position following external scrutiny.
Read the case studyA city council in the South West
City-Wide Markets & Street Trading Overhaul
Consolidated and modernised regulatory framework, improved administrative efficiency and stronger alignment with wider regeneration objectives.
Read the case studyWirral Council
Regulatory Services Restructure & Operating Model
A risk-based operating model across environmental health, trading standards and licensing, delivering the required saving without compromising statutory compliance.
Read the case studyWest Midlands Combined Authority
Procurement Governance Review & Framework Redesign
Remediated audit findings and redesigned procurement governance, with a substantial assurance rating at follow-up review.
Read the case study
Insights
Notes for people who have to decide
Procurement reform in practice: what public bodies should prioritise first
Procedure rules, notice ownership, exclusions and the discipline of writing assessment summaries.
Read the article
Street trading policy: common weaknesses in legacy frameworks
The four failures that come up most often, and what a properly structured modernisation involves.
Read the article
Licensing decisions under scrutiny: avoiding procedural fragility
Relevance, reasons, fairness at the hearing, and policy that is doing no work.
Read the article
The practice
Led personally, from first advice to implementation
Devol Legal is led by Lee Vallender, a barrister called in 2005 whose career spans senior roles in local government and a professional regulator, and more than nine years at Deloitte UK. The person you brief is the person who does the work.
- 2005
- 15+ years
- 9+ years
Initial discussion
Need a measured view on a live regulatory issue?
Whether you are dealing with a complex licensing question, an outdated regulatory framework, a governance concern or a broader service redesign, we would be pleased to have an initial discussion. Confidential, and without obligation.