Plans to bring together the legal operations of four South East local authorities with the aim of generating savings of £1 million annually within three years have been signed off.
Surrey County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and East and West Sussex County Councils have given the go-ahead for what is thought to be one of local government's biggest legal services.
When it launches next month Orbis Public Law will also generate extra money by doing work for other public, voluntary and charitable bodies.
The move follows the successful launch last year of the Orbis partnership covering areas such as human resources, finance and procurement.
Cllr Les Hamilton, lead member for resources, Brighton & Hove City Council said: “Orbis Public Law is an innovative way of tackling the funding issues in the public sector while delivering outstanding services. This combined service brings additional resilience, flexibility and expertise to the council’s legal service while reducing costs.
“This will be one of the largest legal team in local government offering advice across all fields while increasing capacity and even generating income by doing work for other public, voluntary and charitable bodies.”