The law departments of 18 “local authorities” in the East Midlands of Britain created a partnership, operating under the name of EM Law Share, and appointed four external counsel. Legal Week, Vol. 8, April 27, 2006 at 4 discloses this unusual collective arrangement. Teaming together, these law departments can obtain better law firms at more favorable rates (See my posts of Oct. 14, 2005 about in-house lawyers and collective action.).
As a side note, one of the participating lawyers, Nigel Snape, is the chair of Solicitors in Local Government (See my post of Dec. 19, 2005 about in-house lawyer groups.).