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My CILEx presidency:
the first three months
President Millicent (‘Millie’) Grant reflects on her first few months in office
About the author
Millie Grant is President of CILEx.
At the time of writing this article, it has been almost three months since I was inaugurated as President. It is an exciting journey full of personal and professional challenges and pleasures, whilst balancing work responsibilities with CILEx and other commitments. The last three months have been a flurry of networking, official meetings, and travelling around the country to branch and other events.
In September, I attended this annual conference with CILEx CEO Linda Ford and Lynne Squires and Louise Tyrrell, the head of business development and practice advice and the membership manager at CILEx respectively, joining representatives of all parts of the legal community, including practitioners, academics, students, judges and others with an interest in the law in Wales.
The conference covered three main themes: legal education and practice; public law; and civil and social rights. There were a number of workshops aligned to the three main themes, two of which were sponsored by CILEx: ie, ‘Legal education and practice’ and ‘Modern regulation: flexibility to meet the needs of Wales’. I chaired one of the other workshops, ‘Access to justice as a human right’, in which presentations were received from Richard Owen, an associate professor in legal studies at Swansea University, who spoke about his work in the community when he was employed at Essex University, and Jo Sidhu, who works on legal partnerships at CrowdJustice, which is an organisation that was created to increase access to the legal system (see (2017) March CILExJ p6–7). Jo Sidhu spoke about the work of CrowdJustice and her belief that the legal community should work to increase access to the courts and engagement with the law itself. In addition, there were plenary sessions on the following:
- The future of Welsh law schools;
- Developing Legal Wales;
- Financing pro bono access to justice; and
- Brexit and the law in Wales.
The conference ended with a speech from the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, at his last such gathering in that role (see pages 12 and 13 of this issue). The conference was also the first opportunity to hear from Sir David Lloyd Jones following his historic appointment as the first Welsh Justice of the UK Supreme Court.
CILEx has 2,212 members who either live, work or would have an interest in Wales. Wales has a devolved parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and a body of legislation and case law that is developing independently of the law in England. The issues arising from Brexit add another dimension to the challenges facing lawyers in Wales. It is, therefore, important that CILEx finds ways to provide them with information and support which is relevant to their working environment.¹
Many of our members work in local government and this conference was an opportunity, spread over two days in October, to attend a range of seminars and training sessions covering corporate governance; elections; and management issues, together with information that has relevance in all sectors, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation and how to reach a position of compliance by the May 2018 deadline (see page 38 and 39 of this issue). The conference, which took place in Bath, was an opportunity to explore the Roman baths and to network. CILEx Law School had a stand in the exhibition hall promoting its services, in particular the CILEx apprenticeship.
The swearing-in of the new Lord Chief Justice, Sir Ian Burnett, took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in October; on the same day, Lady Brenda Hale was sworn-in as the first female president of the UK Supreme Court (pictured above). The swearing-in ceremonies were followed by the annual Judges Service at Westminster Abbey to mark the opening of the Legal Year. Judges, senior members of the judiciary, barristers, advocates and other representatives of the UK legal profession, together with senior legal representatives from around the world, many dressed in their wigs, robes and other formal attire, attended the formal service.
I was there with Phillip Sherwood and Patricia White, CILEx vice-president and deputy vice-president respectively. After the service, the Lord Chancellor invited each person present to attend a reception and buffet in Westminster Hall.
The ceremonies are always joyous occasions, and are one of my favourite events in the CILEx calendar. Again this year, we had three graduation ceremonies in one day. Each was graced by a keynote speaker who delivered inspiring speeches to the graduates, respectively: Judge Jinder Singh Boora, a mentor on the CILEx Judicial Development Programme; Robert Buckland QC MP, the Solicitor General for England and Wales; and Andrea Coomber, director of JUSTICE, an all-party law reform and human rights organisation.
I delivered my speech at each ceremony, reminding graduates that they were role models and encouraging them to prominently display the photograph taken in their graduation robes in order to inspire the younger (and perhaps older) members of their families. I also led Fellows in taking the Chartered Legal Executive Oath. The ceremonies, which were also attended by other Council members, were well organised by the members of staff at CILEx headquarters. Please take a look at some of the videos of the occasion that are online.²
On the same day, CILEx celebrated the hard work and dedication of its members and the legal community with the prestigious CILEx Awards. The five recipients of this year’s CILEx Awards were as follows:
- Michelle Blackwell, CILEx Apprentice of the Year;
- Rachel Lee, Graduate of the Year;
- Trowers & Hamlins LLP, Employer of the Year;
- Nazmin Akthar, Pro Bono Award; and
- Caroline Packer, CILEx President’s Award.
In addition to the above, I have continued my work on the CILEx membership standing committee and governance standing committee, and on the Judicial Appointments Commission judicial diversity forum and the forum’s pre-application judicial education working party.
The standing committees have been responsible for inspiring and overseeing important work for CILEx members, including improved member advice and guidance on the myCareer portal, in particular, in relation to career support and development, and the Judicial Development Programme, which is currently being piloted (see box below). Changes to the CILEx governance structure (including to the group structure and associated terms of reference) have been processed by the governance standing committee, which has recommended them to CILEx Council for approval.
It’s not all work! There have been a number of social occasions where I have been invited to represent CILEx at functions held by institutes and associations that support our membership and with whom we share members within different spheres of the legal profession, and where it is mutually beneficial to develop professional relationships. For example, at the Institute of Barristers' Clerks and the Institute of Legal Finance and Management.
It has been a busy three months so far, and I look forward to sharing with you, throughout the rest of the year, what I have been doing on members’ behalf and the work I am doing within the CILEx Group.
1 The Wales Specialist Reference Group aims to provide CILEx members with news and updates regarding developments in Welsh Law and the legal services industry in Wales, visit: http://tinyurl.com/y84swota
2 Visit: http://tinyurl.com/y8s9ata9
- Visit myCILEx, an area reserved exclusively for CILEx members, at: http://tinyurl.com/y7mc4ges
- For details about the CILEx Judicial Development Programme, visit: http://tinyurl.com/y7heooj6