CILEX members gather in London to celebrate graduation
Last month saw over 1,000 CILEX members and their friends and family gather at London’s QEII Conference Centre to celebrate graduation.
Some 275 new CILEX Fellows, CILEX Lawyers, Advocates, Practitioners and CILEX Graduates heard from speakers Professor Lord Kakkar, former chair of the Judicial Appointment Commission and Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), Juliet Harvey – the first Chartered Legal Executive to chair family lawyers group Resolution – and CILEX President Emma Davies.
CILEX president Emma Davies and professional board member Mohammed Hussain
Ms Davies recognised the achievements of graduates, so many of whom qualified while studying alongside full-time work. She said: “You have dedicated your time over many years to study whilst working. In addition, you might have had caring commitments and other personal responsibilities. Life might have thrown you a curve ball, perhaps on more than one occasion, but the flexibility of CILEX qualifications meant you could pause and pick back up when the time was right for you.”
She reflected on the fact that CILEX Lawyers graduating, unlike newly qualified solicitors, would have been “advising clients for years and successfully managing their own caseloads” and encouraged them to seize new opportunities and “work hard and continue to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, however scary it may feel, you can achieve more than you ever imagined”.
Professor Lord Kakkar was made an Honorary CILEX Companion, in recognition of his championing of CILEX as a valued member of the JDF and his support for the extension of eligibility criteria to allow CILEX Lawyers to apply for senior judicial appointments, a change that came into force in June this year.
In addition to his work with the JDF, Lord Kakkar is president of the Thrombosis Research Institute and Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University College London. He was made a life peer in 2010 and sits on the crossbenches of the House of Lords.
He told the audience: “During my time as chair of the Judicial Diversity Forum, CILEX contributed actively towards achieving our shared vision of a more diverse judiciary, better placed to serve our citizens.
In June this year, the Ministry of Justice opened up more senior judicial roles to CILEX-qualified lawyers, a reflection of the tremendous contribution this profession has to offer our judicial system.”
George and Sam Heron graduate together
Among the CILEX members celebrating qualifying as Chartered Legal Executives on the day were husband and wife graduates, George and Sam Heron.
Mr Heron of Martin Kaye Solicitors in Telford was made a Fellow in 2021 but decided to defer his admission ceremony, so that he and Sam, who also works at Martin Kaye, could graduate at the same time.
Mr Heron said: “It was one of the proudest days of my life, from a personal and professional perspective. The day marked the culmination of so much hard work and sacrifice; with hours spent in textbooks, hours upon hours of exams and anxious months waiting for results."