myCILEx
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Policy round-up
Simon Garrod, CILEx director of policy and governance, writes:
Flexible Operating Hours pilots
CILEx previously referred to and welcomed (in this space) the decision by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to delay plans to carry out flexible operating hours pilot programmes in England and Wales to first establish a clearer evidence base. As reported, the proposed pilot period will indeed run from February to August 2018.
HMCTS has now published a prospectus seeking views on the proposals (see blog post by HMCTS CEO Susan Acland-Hood, ‘Next steps in testing our proposals for court hours pilots’ at: http://tinyurl.com/yd9yvx2n and Flexible Operating Hours Pilots Prospectus, available at: http://tinyurl.com/ycn2j2ev).
CILEx will be responding with its views and encourages members to also express their own opinions about the HMCTS plans. Please look out for related information on the Specialist Reference Groups’ (SRGs) web pages (visit: www.cilex.org.uk/membership/specialist_ reference_groups).
Roadshows
HMCTS is also running a number of roadshows seeking views on the Flexible Operating Hours pilots and on the wider courts reform programme. The first two HMCTS Reform Roadshows were held in Newcastle and in Manchester respectively, in late November.
The last roadshow in the initial series will be held in London on Monday 11 December. The event will last for about 90 minutes, and start at 5 pm with a general introduction on reform, followed by discussions on any specific issues that arise. It will end with a feedback session and next steps.
HMCTS says that it will add more roadshow venues as they are confirmed. Again, keep an eye on the SRGs’ web pages for further updates.
It is a busy period for consultations which may affect or be of interest to CILEx members. Many thanks to all members who have contributed their views to some of the recent issues we have been grappling with on your behalf, for example:
- the Law Commission’s Making a will consultation: responses from members of the CILEx Private Client SRG were invaluable to the development of CILEx’s response; and
- the Ministry of Justice’s Personal injury claims arising from package holidays: Call for evidence was substantially informed by our Personal Injury SRG members’ feedback to our survey.
Please look out for opportunities to contribute to the following consultations, about which we will also be surveying SRG members:
- The impact of social media on the administration of justice: a call for evidence, the Attorney General’s Office, available at: http://tinyurl.com/y7sqojwv
- The sentencing code (consultation paper and draft legislation), the Law Commission, available at: http://tinyurl.com/y9psxlwk
- Improving the home buying and selling process: call for evidence, the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), available at: http://tinyurl.com/y7uezr9u
In addition, CILEx has been engaging with both HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in relation to anti-money laundering (AML) related matters, and specifically in relation to the government’s intention to create the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS). OPBAS will be housed and run by the FCA and will oversee the adequacy of the AML supervisory arrangements of the 22
professional body AML supervisors listed in Schedule 1 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 SI No 692. The costs of running OPBAS will come from the professional body supervisors that it will supervise under the draft Oversight of Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Regulations 2017.
CILEx has responded most recently to the FCA’s two related consultations: on proposals for a specialist sourcebook for professional body supervisors, which sets out expectations in relation to AML supervision; and on proposals for a structure of fees for recovering the costs of OPBAS from professional body supervisors once it is established in early 2018.
Many thanks to all those members who took part in the recent membership survey, managed for us by Ipsos MORI, seeking views which will inform the development of our future qualifications and membership offerings. The response rate was excellent, and provides a solid statistical basis for further developmental work. The survey will be complemented by a number of in-depth interviews with employers, graduates and course providers, with results and next steps expected in the New Year.
CILEx members will be aware that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued the final report of its legal services market study last year. This included recommendations about requiring firms to publish certain information for consumers. Regulators (CILEx Regulation and the Solicitors Regulation Authority) are now responding to this by consulting on what information their regulated firms will be expected to produce for consumers in the future (see also page 5 of this issue). CILEx Regulation’s consultation runs until 21 December. It proposes, initially, to ask firms providing residential conveyancing (including freehold and leasehold, mortgaging and remortgaging) and wills to publish transparency information. This information will have to include:
- price, including the charging model, such as fixed fee and any additional costs;
- service, including a description of the work included in the price and how long it will take;
- consumer redress, including complaints procedures and the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman; and
- how the firm is regulated, including professional indemnity cover and availability of our compensation arrangements.
While these proposals are aimed at firms initially, everyone working in the legal sector providing services to individuals and small businesses will likely be affected at some stage. CILEx will be responding to this consultation (and would urge you to do so too), and would welcome your views on these proposals so that they may be fed into that response. Please contact: corporateaffairs@cilex.org.uk.
Support for those with an addiction
Elizabeth Rimmer, director of LawCare, thinks back to November’s Alcohol Awareness Week campaign.
Alcohol Awareness Week, which is an annual campaign from Alcohol Concern, ran from 13 to 19 November this year. The theme was ‘Alcohol and families’. Alcohol Concern ran the Week in partnership with Adfam, the national charity working to improve life for families affected by drugs and alcohol. They used this opportunity to start a conversation around harmful drinking to help break the cycle of silence and stigma that is all too often experienced by families. They did this by sharing the stories of people affected by harmful drinking, as well as case studies of alcohol services doing great work around the country.
The campaign also signposted anyone affected by harmful drinking to the support they need, and shared information, resources and stories throughout the week on Twitter and Facebook. There are a number of online resources that are free to download, including expert factsheets on various issues associated with alcohol and families; an easy-to-understand, visual depiction of the Chief Medical Officers' guidelines for low-risk drinking for print and social media use, and a bank of statistics.
We know that alcohol can be a major part of workplace culture, and yet it can also have a damaging effect on workplace productivity, safety, health and morale. Staff can be less eÿcient, and keep themselves less safe, with any amount of alcohol in their system.
Harmful drinking is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15 to 49 year olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages. It is estimated to cost the NHS £3.5bn annually, while an estimated 595,000 adults in England are alcohol dependent and in need of specialist treatment.
We supported Alcohol Awareness Week with articles, social media, and a blog from Alcohol Concern. We also highlighted our own work in supporting those in the legal profession with alcohol-related issues.
Working in the legal profession can be stressful and well paid, a combination that leaves some lawyers with both the reason and the means to drink. While having a drink in itself is not an issue, if you recognise yourself in two or more of the following statements, you could have a problem with alcohol:
- I go out intending to have just one or two drinks, but then don’t seem to be able to stop.
- I’ve tried to cut down a couple of times: I managed a whole week once.
- I sometimes feel guilty about my drinking, and about the effect it has on other people.
- Other people sometimes comment on how much I drink. Why can’t they mind their own business?
- I have a couple of glasses before I go out, in case there’s not enough when I get there.
- I always feel better if I have a drink fairly early in the day, just to steady me.
- I know I’m not an alcoholic because I don’t drink spirits /I’m never drunk/ I don’t drink as much as some other people.
If you would like some support with alcohol, download our factsheet www.lawcare.org.uk/files/factsheet-alcohol.pdf.
- LawCare's free, independent and confidential Helpline provides a space for you to talk about anything that may be worrying you. Tel: 0800 279 6888 Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7.30 pm and on weekends and bank holidays from 10 am to 4 pm.
Do pro bono work or be a trustee: just get involved!
This year’s CILEx Pro Bono Award winner, Nazmin Akthar, who is trustee of the Muslim Women’s Network UK (MWNUK) looks back on National Pro Bono Week and Trustees’ Week (from 6 to 11 November and from 13 to 17 November respectively). Nazmin explains how her pro bono work influenced not only her choice of employment but her decision to pursue the CILEx route, and how CILEx members can make a difference as trustees by putting their extensive legal skills and experience to good use in a range of ways and across various sectors.
MWNUK is a small but national Muslim women’s charity which works towards promoting equality and social inclusion for Muslim women and girls in UK through three broad areas, ie, research, advocacy and campaigning. MWNUK works on issues, such as domestic violence, forced marriage, mental health, homelessness, Islamic divorce, discrimination and Islamophobia. Some of the activities carried out include assisting service users who call the Muslim Women’s Network (MWN) Helpline, undertaking research and developing resources, providing training and raising awareness of key issues in schools and other stakeholder organisations, liaising with policymakers and contributing to governmental enquiries.
I came across MWNUK, by chance, one day in the summer of 2011. I had just graduated with my Masters in Law, and was working as a county court advocate (having completed the Bar Vocational Course the year before). Free from exams and essay deadlines, I finally had time to pursue a research interest that I had developed during my undergraduate studies: the compatibility of the principles of Shariah with feminism.
I contacted MWNUK and asked if they could provide any reading suggestions to assist with my research and understanding. The executive director, Faeeza Vaid, responded with some recommendations, and mentioned that they were currently recruiting co-opted board members. I applied, attended an interview, and became a trustee soon after. Little did I know that some of my greatest highlights in the last six years would be achieved because of MWNUK.
One of the first key projects I became involved in was of an entirely legal nature: assisting with the conversion of MWNUK from a community interest company to a charitable company. It was a mammoth task, not only because of the nature of the work involved, but because of the thorough nature in which the board operate. Every decision was to be made after careful research, and a comprehensive discussion of the different options and their potential impact. I researched all that could possibly be researched to be able to provide guidance about the advantages and disadvantages of each point of consideration:
- What is the difference between a charitable association and registered company?
- Will the proposed objectives be deemed suitable in accordance with charity law?
- What needs to be taken into account in respect of the Companies Act 2006?
- What is the procedure to change from a community interest company to a charitable company?
I drafted and redrafted the articles of association again and again: to the point that almost all of it has been ingrained into my memory. I also drafted the memorandum and special resolutions needed. Why is this an achievement? Because this wasn’t even the area of law that I was working in at the time.
Working for charities such as MWNUK doesn’t just allow us to disseminate the expertise we hold, it is also an opportunity for us to learn and develop our legal knowledge and skills. The board made a collective decision in terms of how to progress with MWNUK’s conversion to a registered charity, and the responsibility was not solely mine.
However, I was able to utilise my legal skills to assist the board in making its decisions. In return, I developed confidence in my abilities to be able to undertake legal research even in unchartered territories, something that has helped me in my legal career to date. I was also given the opportunity to develop my drafting skills when my work, at the time, was focused predominantly on litigation and advocacy; incidentally, my current work as a Chartered Legal Executive in real estate involves drafting various legal documents, on a daily basis, where I have to consider the implications of each clause for clients.
When I was reviewing my career options, in 2014, one concern cited by my peers about the CILEx route was that it may be restrictive as you will only be working in one area of law (unless your employer allows flexibility) while training contracts ensure exposure to different areas. This did not concern me for various reasons, one of which was that even if I was concentrating on only one field at work, through MWNUK I would be exposed to many others; in addition, the knowledge and skills developed from both employment and volunteering can be easily transferrable from one to the other, and from practice to practice. If CILEx members are concerned that they are restricting themselves by specialising too early, providing pro bono assistance to small charities as trustees or in another capacity may be a solution to allaying your fears.
In the last six years, I have carried out legal research on a range of topics through MWNUK: from the Divorce (Religious Marriages) Act 2002 to the Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act 1995 to even the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
I’ve also had the privilege of giving evidence to two parliamentary select committees: the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and the Women and Equalities Committee, and attended roundtable meetings hosted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
I’ve also travelled to Romania to give a presentation, at an international conference, on the barriers faced by Muslim women in UK when attempting to obtain an Islamic divorce, on the issues surrounding unregistered, Islamic-only marriages and the legislative changes that could assist. And to date I have drafted and responded to 16 consultations held by various governmental/public bodies.
I can safely say that choosing the CILEx route to qualifying instead of pursuing a pupillage has not stopped me from using my advocacy skills!
Organisations such as MWNUK are, perhaps, not what those of us in the early stages of our legal careers would usually consider as needing voluntary legal assistance. When I was at university, careers advice would typically revolve around seeking voluntary experience with the likes of law centres, citizens advice bureaux, and the Free Representation Unit etc. All such organisations, of course, provide a vital service to those in need, but small charities can also use our legal skills and expertise and legal professionals should consider assisting them too.
Take, for example, a MWN Helpline case last year involving a vulnerable young woman. One of the issues uncovered by the MWN Helpline team was that this woman had been forced into a marriage, in Pakistan, at the age of 16. A year later, she found the opportunity to seek assistance from the British Embassy in Islamabad and return to the UK.
However, as she was unable to pay for her return to the UK, she was made to sign a loan agreement which stipulated that she must repay the costs of her
repatriation and seized her passport until this was debt was settled. This debt was one of the many issues adding to her distress, and MWNUK was naturally concerned by this approach.
Many forced-marriage victims are young, vulnerable and financially dependent on their families. On escaping, they are usually disowned and ostracized, and often struggle both financially and emotionally.
We felt that expecting such individuals to pay repatriation costs was both morally wrong and counterproductive as it was likely to deter victims from seeking help, resulting in them remaining in abusive relationships. These issues were raised with the FCO, but crucially we raised the fact that the loan agreement was signed when the said victim was only 17 years old and, at that age in the UK, she would not even have been able to enter into an agreement to purchase gas or electricity, let alone a loan or credit card agreement.
MWNUK’s letter resulted in a policy change, and in March 2017 the FCO announced that the ministerial department would no longer charge under 18s the cost of their repatriation. Would the FCO have made changes based on our moral arguments? Maybe, maybe not. What we do know is that our legal arguments, based on UK contract law, made the FCO think again. As a lawyer, checking an individual’s age at the time of signing an agreement is a simple fact-check exercise; however, something that we as legal professionals take for granted can make the difference.
Being a charity trustee is, of course, a team effort. I am regularly in awe of all that is done by staff and the board especially when I read the likes of the pioneering research carried out by MWNUK’s Chair Shaista Gohir into sexual exploitation, or when I see MWN Helpline advisers providing support and advice on complex and emotionally draining cases involving domestic violence. The work they do can and does literally save lives.
But, as legal professionals, we also have the tools to effect change. Whether helping with governance matters to run the charity, or providing pro bono assistance in respect of a specific case, we can help make a difference to those in need and to wider society – and to ourselves too.