CILEx: the year in review
The CILEx Group looks at the highlights and challenges of 2016.
Linda Ford, CILEx chief operating officer says: 2016 has been a year of change and improvement. The early part of the year involved embedding our new structure at CILEx head office, reviewing our business processes and embarking on a programme of reform. This programme was designed to ensure that we remain financially secure and can respond to current and future challenges facing both the legal sector and the wider markets in which we operate.
In 2016, we have established a new contact centre aimed at delivering improved customer service through initiatives, such as Twitter hashtag #CILExHelp, employer invoicing and more online resources.
Our Graduation event was our most successful yet, with 105 new Chartered Legal Executives, 168 Graduate members and 2 CILEx Advocates having been recognised.
Earlier this year, we launched our new Tech Level qualification, gained approval as an end point assessor for apprenticeships and have introduced e-assessment for some of our qualifications.
The latter part of the year has provided an opportunity to focus on improving our branch network, with a new action plan in place, excellent attendance at our branch personnel day and an increased presence at branch events. Roadshows have allowed us to meet many of you in person, and gain a much greater insight into the issues affecting you. This has given us a better understanding of the challenges you face and what we can do to communicate with you more effectively, and how to help you embrace the opportunities available.
October and November have seen our Council consider its vision and strategy for the CILEx Group in what is a constantly changing environment, a more challenging market, with a need for even greater separation between the professional associations and front-line regulators.
We end the year in a much stronger financial position than last year, and with resources more focused on customer service, member support and product development, we are able to enter 2017 ready to deliver the new strategy.
In 2017 we will launch our new business plan. We will also consult with members about changes to our qualifications to reflect the changing market and the needs of employers, and on plans to amend our Charter and Bye-Laws to reflect changes to our governance and group structure. We are already looking at how we can enhance our membership package to include products and services that will support you as you progress through your careers.
A new careers and recruitment website is planned for 2017, which will provide key information, tools and support services to help you identify career opportunities, including finding your next role, gaining promotion, becoming a partner in a firm, obtaining practice rights, establishing your own entity and gaining judicial appointment.
I would like to thank both the staff at head office for their hard work over the past year and you, as members, for your continued support for CILEx. In particular, those members who have taken the time and opportunity to engage with us and provide feedback which will help inform our future developments.
We intend to build on the customer service and member engagement improvements we have made in 2016 and so, in 2017, you can certainly expect to hear from us a lot more!
The Education Directorate has been working on a number of projects in 2016, alongside the delivery of around 12,500 assessments. Our work has included the development of a new Tech Level qualification aimed at younger learners (aged 16–18 ) in full-time education. The qualification is currently being rolled out, and the first learners embarked on this new qualification at Sheffield College and City of Bristol College in September 2016. The Tech Level is part of a two-year programme of study which enables learners to develop their knowledge of contract law, tort, crime and land law alongside the development of skills, such as basic legal drafting and legal research. Each learner is required to undertake a work experience placement as part of their qualification, which will enable them to see how their skills and knowledge can be put into practice in the workplace.
We have also met with the Department for Education (DfE) on a number of occasions to discuss the new Skills Plan, a government initiative to streamline further education and make choices more straightforward for 16 year olds who do not intend to follow the A-level and higher education route. The Skills Plan introduces 15 possible routes to choose from, including construction, engineering and the legal, accountancy and financial services route. These routes will link to options for progression to higher apprenticeships or onward professional qualifications.
The Trailblazer apprenticeships became available in September 2016 for the paralegal, Chartered Legal Executive and solicitor routes. CILEx has been designated as an apprenticeship assessment organisation for the paralegal and Chartered Legal Executive apprenticeships, which means that CILEx will be able to act as the independent assessor of apprentices. We anticipate that the first assessments will come through in April 2018.
Looking forward to 2017, as well as the new and existing qualifications on offer, we will be testing our new e-assessment platform. Initially, e-assessments will apply to some learners sitting Unit 1 – Introduction to Law and Practice. During 2017 and 2018, we will be rolling out e-assessment for our other examinations so that by 2019, the CILEx examinations should all be assessed by e-assessment. We will, of course, be keeping you up to date with this exciting new development.
2016 has been a busy year for the membership team, with lots of new and exciting developments. At the beginning of the year, we established the CILEx contact centre, with a team of membership advisers who are on hand to help you with any query regarding your membership, qualifications, regulation or any aspect of your development in the legal profession, whether you are just starting out or are an experienced legal professional or lawyer. As this team has developed and grown, we have seen the introduction of a number of initiatives such as:
- The creation of an animation to introduce new members to the benefits of membership. Take a look at www.cilex.org.uk/membership.
- The introduction of #CILExhelp, a service which aims to answer queries within three hours of being posted.
- The development of out-of-hours CPD clinics (5 pm–7 pm) as we approached the CPD deadline.
- A new venue and format for graduation that included more Graduates and Fellows than ever, along with their friends and family.
- The introduction of a service that enables members to nominate their employer to receive their membership invoice directly.
These are just some of the many initiatives that we have introduced, or are planning, to ensure that we focus on you as members, listening to what you need and responding accordingly. We now track all calls, e-mails and social media messages to ensure that we not only respond, but can improve and develop our services across the membership.
Another area we have focused more of our time on is the CILEx branches. If you are not already involved, this is a great time to start. Details of the branches can be found on the website, and if there is not one in your area why not consider setting one up. Branches can provide you with a great opportunity to learn new things and network with other members, but also become part of the legal profession in your local area. As well as CPD and social events, branches provide great links to legal firms, the local law society and the judiciary. This year alone our branches have run over 100 events across the country, with many more planned. New branches are planned for Berkshire, Sheffield, Lancashire, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Wiltshire, so if you are in any of these areas please get in touch and we would be happy to make contact with the organisers on your behalf. If you are interested in anything to do with branches, please call or e-mail the contact centre or our new Branch Officer Ellen Birch.
It has been a very busy 2016, and we have even more planned for 2017. However, we always want to get your feedback, so please make sure that you get in touch, e-mail : membership@cilex.org.uk, tel: 01234 845777 or #CILExHelp
Consultations have featured heavily during 2016 and by the close of the year, CILEx will have engaged with more than 15 of them with a variety of stakeholders. These have included the CMA, in relation to their legal services market study, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, LSB, MoJ, Land Registry and many others.
In order to deal with this and other policy work, CILEx has developed new methods to better engage with members to seek their views and insights to inform the development of policy positions; this includes a series of specialist reference groups which have been launched to enable members to contribute to CILEx’s work in a host of areas covering conveyancing, personal injury, court users, and regulatory affairs. More groups are planned for the future. We encourage you to join your relevant groups, and you can find out how on the CILEx website.
In terms of Parliamentary work, CILEx welcomed and engaged with new secretaries of state, and new ministerial teams, to the MoJ, the DfE (in relation to apprenticeships and technical and professional education) and the Court Service (for court infrastructure reform following Lord Justice Briggs’ plans for an Online Court). CILEx has met with the Home Office and worked with colleagues in the Law Society and Bar Council to secure protections for legal professional privilege in the Investigatory Powers Bill. Also with those bodies, we have been investigating the viability of a possible contingent legal aid fund (CLAF) as a means of providing a viable alternative option to complement existing forms of litigation funding; the final report on that is due in early 2017.
CILEx remains committed to its charitable activities: The Benevolent Fund trustees have considered increasing volumes of applications during 2016. The trust’s current priorities going forward include researching methods of future fund raising activities, trustee recruitment and improving the process and management of applications to the fund.
The CILEx Pro Bono Trust remains committed to maintaining and raising its profile, having had a number of articles in recent editions of CILEx Journal and participated in the development of this year’s National Pro Bono Week (see pages 22 and 23 of this issue).
CILEx has also participated in a broad range of external groups; the Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, the Stamp Duty and Land Tax Working Group, and Judicial Diversity Forum.
Next year is already looking even busier!
Karl Cerski, director of group services and chief financial officer says: The last 12 months have been particularly eventful for the CILEx Group. This time last year, the Group was facing a very difficult set of financial results for 2015 and the Chartered Institute was preparing to undertake a restructuring exercise. The ensuing departure of some of our colleagues and the reorganisation of the Institute and Group Services has been a difficult, challenging process.
The restructuring that we carried out was not just a cost-saving measure, but a necessary refocusing of our resources on membership value and income generation. However, the resulting outcomes have been positive and tangible. Twelve months later, the Group’s financial position has improved significantly, with all parts of the Group well ahead of the targets set for this year. We will be reporting a much healthier financial position for 2016 compared with last year.
My team provides the shared services functions in the CILEx Group, and these comprise: finance and accounting; facilities management; human resources and information technology. All of these areas have been affected by the restructuring, but I am very pleased by the professional and diligent way my staff have responded and settled into the new organisation. A lot of hard work has gone into making the new structure work, with no loss of service. Now the focus is on how we can further improve and streamline our processes.
We have also been working on restructuring the Group’s budgets for 2017 to reflect the increasing independence of our regulatory body, CILEx Regulation, and the new shape of the organisation. Part of this work has been on the way shared resources are managed and charged, in order to bring greater financial transparency regarding the true cost of each of the different businesses in the Group.
The Group has also been addressing some of the financial risks it faces, and colleagues in CILEx Regulation have been reviewing the compensation fund arrangements relating to entity regulation. This work will help to mitigate the small risk of client claims reverting to CILEx.
The past 12 months have been challenging but a great deal of progress has been made, and I would like to thank all of my team for their hard work in making these things happen.
Noel Inge, managing director for CILEx Law School (CLS) says: 2016 has been a good year. Sales of our distance learning courses at Level 3 and Level 6 have been buoyant, which has helped us beat our budget target and the previous year.
Any surplus CLS makes is put into the reserves for use by the CILEx Group for capital projects such as IT enhancements and the like. In this regard, each enrolment with CLS ensures that course fees are used for the members’ ultimate benefit.
Our work, as always, is divided between core and non-core activities: the former comprises CILEx courses, revision days and manuals and, increasingly, apprenticeships.
It is difficult to identify exactly why our core business has done so well in 2016, but part of the reason must be CLS’s investment in learning facilities, such as the extensive provision of web-based materials, the trialling of webinars and more staff to provide learners with help and support by telephone.
To this end, we have extended our Customer Service Team opening hours until 6 pm from Monday to Thursday. The new opening hours have proved popular, and what started as a pilot is now a permanent feature of how we do business.
The reason for the extended opening hours was in response to our student survey. Again, our approval levels were excellent, with 93.5% of our learners saying that they would recommend us to a colleague or friend. We are very grateful to the very many students who responded to the survey and gave us such positive feedback.
One feature of our student survey was a deep appreciation of CLS’s staff and, in particular, their willingness to go out on a limb to help learners. To do this CLS’s staff are expected to be professional and knowledgeable, which is why we are committed to staff development. This year, our Customer Service Team demonstrated this commitment by studying and passing a number of CILEx Level 3 units.
We ensure that each member of the CLS Customer Service Team has first-hand experience of what it is to be a CILEx student, and what it takes to pass exams. It means that callers will speak to someone who understands CLS’s courses from a student’s perspective, something few if any other educational providers can claim.
Much has been said about apprenticeships, so we are proud to boast about our role in the delivery of legal apprenticeships, and can confidently claim to be the biggest (and we think the best) provider in England and Wales. Our success rate for apprenticeship completions is very high, which is unsurprising given the levels of support dedicated to learners.
The number of firms asking CLS for help with recruiting and delivering apprenticeships has increased substantially in 2016, which demands of CLS ever more colleagues working regionally. We expect this trend to continue in 2017 for the benefit of both apprentices and those studying through the traditional CILEx route.
On the apprenticeship theme, we have worked in partnership with City University to launch the first solicitor apprenticeship. It complements our other work- based learning routes that provide opportunities for those who cannot afford or do not want to attend university.
Finally, it is important to say a few words about our non-core business. This includes courses offered in partnership with De Montfort University, City University and City & Guilds. The De Montfort University GDL and LPC courses have bucked the national trend and continue to grow, while the first cohort of our LLB in Legal Practice with City University has started their studies. Completing the City University LLB in Legal Practice enables students to claim exemption from the whole CILEx qualification, while achieving a law degree to boot.
City & Guilds course sales are doing well too, and provide an excellent entry point for those who are not yet ready to commence CILEx Level 3 study or who want to improve their skills as a legal secretary.
All in all, 2016 has been a good year, and we look forward to 2017 with genuine enthusiasm. We wish all of our students and business partners our best wishes for the festive season.
Helen Whiteman, chief executive of CILEx Regulation says: This year has been both challenging and rewarding for CILEx Regulation. We have continued to focus on improving our customer service levels to our regulated community and consumers. This has resulted in new online resources for workbased learning, CPD compliance and practitioner authorisation. We have seen huge improvements in both the quality of the applications being submitted for authorisation, which has helped us to reduce our processing times and increase our capacity to respond to increasing numbers of applications.
Following the success of last year’s practice rights roadshows, more of you are pursuing independent practice and considering setting up business with us. While the political landscape has changed following Brexit, there remains a demand for legal services and we have been encouraged to hear from you with your proposals for meeting that need head on. Yes, there are standards that must be met and the necessary safeguards in place for consumers, but if you have the determination to succeed both we and CILEx will support you every step of the way. In the words of our new Lord Chancellor, the law should be seen as an ‘attractive and prestigious career by every possible person from every possible background’. You have a lot to offer!
We have been leading a collaborative workstream with other regulators on consumer engagement. This has led to jointly commissioned research into the effectiveness of client care letters (see also page 38 of this issue). While the findings were unsurprising, it shows that firms can make simple changes to improve the overall client experience. We would also encourage the non-regulatory bodies to review their guidance and, where appropriate, update it to reflect current best practice.
Our oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board (LSB), assesses our performance on an annual basis. This year we took the additional step of engaging an independent reviewer to help us to benchmark our performance more widely across the professional services sector. We were the only regulator to receive a ‘good’ (the highest score) for our enforcement function, which was really pleasing. We are delivering against an action plan to develop performance across all our regulatory functions, and in some areas working jointly with colleagues from the Legal Regulator’s Forum.
So, what is in the stocking for 2017? We should be in receipt of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report, and we have all been on tenterhooks for the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s ) regulatory separation consultation. Whether that materialises or not, our Board has agreed to work with CILEx on whatever may come our way, particularly as we are already operating on an independent basis to a large extent. The challenge, perhaps, will be the formulation of any transitional plan which allows us to achieve full financial separation. Our primary focus is to reduce the cost of regulation to you.
The assessment team is preparing to introduce a new online portfolio system that will improve the way in which you are able to provide material to us. Further details to follow!
I hope that the high levels of engagement we achieve with you, both in traditional forms and through social media, will continue to grow. We look forward to delivering regulatory services to you next year. I thank all my colleagues at CILEx Regulation - as well as our Board - for their hard work this past year, and we extend the very best season’s greetings to you all.
