CILEx

President’s review

CILEx President Craig Tickner discusses the issues and concerns that have affected his first 100 days in office.

About the author: CILEx President Craig Tickner.​Hello everyone. I can hardly believe autumn is upon us already. We do, of course, remain in uncertain times, and it has been very difficult to plan ahead without knowing what the rules might be from one week to the next.

I need not mention the effect upon Branch activity due to the current situation, and I have really missed having the opportunity to visit colleagues and students up and down the country. But please remember that if your Branch or class is planning a virtual meet, then I would be delighted to join you from the other end of a screen (I am getting very used to this now!) But it is not all doom and gloom. In fact, far from it.

Moving forward

Earlier on in the Journal, you will have read the article from CILEx Chair Chris Bones about the huge amount of work that has been going on during the past 18 months to raise the profile, and increase the practising scope, of our CILEx Lawyers (see pages 12 to 14 of this issue). For the first time in many years, real progress is, at last, being made. There are very positive noises coming from the government, which recognises the value that our lawyers provide to the public not only in terms of legal expertise, but also having qualified via the non-degree route which, of itself, brings a huge amount of social diversity.

I make no apology for repeating how proud I am to be able to represent an organisation that can boast a 72% female membership and, by far, the highest percentage of BAME members compared with the other legal professions. I was also very pleased to be able to host the first-ever CILEx podcast to celebrate Legal Pride, with colleagues Amanda Hilton of DAC Beachcroft in Manchester and Edd Prosser of Conveyancing Data Services in Devon, and I look forward to hosting similar podcasts, during my term of office, with other parts of our brilliantly diverse membership.

My excitement at the current progress in no way reflects upon past CILEx Councils (the previous governing body). In fact, it is quite the opposite as many of the practice rights we enjoy today are a testament to the hard work that has gone on previously; however, we had almost come to a stalemate in terms of sorting out the anomalies to which Chris Bones has alluded, and it was frustrating to see little further progress in relation to these really important issues.

I am also very pleased to report a continuing increase in the uptake of the Specialist Reference Groups, and I really hope that you continue to sign up to any that are of interest to you generally or as part of your practice specialism (see (2020) Summer CILExJ).

Next steps: how you can help us CILEx Lawyers

This is an easy starter for ten! We have already identified that no one really understands what a Chartered Legal Executive is. Conversely, everyone knows what a lawyer is. So, whilst we are extremely proud of, and will of course maintain, our Chartered status, we will refer to ourselves as CILEx Lawyers.

Building for the future, but also for today: We Need You!

I write this article having just returned from a week in the city of Lincoln. I took the opportunity to visit the castle, in which is contained one of only four exemplified copies of the Magna Carta.

I am sure you will all understand the significance of that legal document, but it could only be achieved by a sustained pressure from the various barons who sought equity and justice as against an autocratic King John. He was to renege on the document which, in part, led to a civil war; nevertheless, his untimely death and succession by young son King Henry III, who adopted the document, changed our legal landscape forever and forms the basis of our modern laws.

Of course, I do not advocate for such extreme measures, but it is a timely example that pressure really does work when the intention is right and you have the numbers to support it, which leads me to the new CILEx Professional Qualification (CPQ). This is another hugely exciting prospect as we look to deliver expert lawyers with practice rights upon completion of the qualification. However, there will naturally be a period of time between now and when the first batch of students complete that new qualification. See pages 7 and 8 and pages 9–11 of this issue.

This is where existing Fellows can really help us. Chris Bones has highlighted that even if all of the anomalies were to be fixed overnight, only a modest percentage of our Fellows would be able to enjoy the consequent benefits because the large majority of them do not have practice rights. We think that this needs to be remedied in the quickest and most cost-effective way possible for two reasons.

Firstly, it seems unfair that graduates of the new CPQ will have practice rights whereas existing Fellows, who spent many years of hard work to achieve their qualification, do not.

Secondly, it would enable CILEx to lobby for change more quickly and effectively on your behalf, as we would then be able to demonstrate the vast number of expert lawyers disadvantaged by some of the historic legislative or practice anomalies and, at the same time, offer a solution to a lack of suitably qualified lawyers (exacerbated by COVID-19).

This really is a very important issue for us, and, in the near future, we will be approaching all of our Fellows to gain their helpful insight and important views on matters of practicality and ambition.

From left: CILEx Chair Chris Bones, CILEx Vice-President Caroline Jepson and I after attending a scaled-back Opening of the Legal Year service at Westminster Abbey

Next steps: how we can help you

It has long been an issue amongst members of all grades - myself included - that we have never really been at the top of our game when it comes to sharing information. At the AGM, one of the questions asked related to exactly this point, and it is particularly frustrating when so much of what is going on is very positive. Of course, I am bound to say that most information is, in fact, usually available but sometimes you have to go looking for it, which is simply not practicable. Add to that the continuous increase in various social media platforms which, whilst providing more means of communication, can often lead to some platforms being missed completely.