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myCILEx provides you with information on the work CILEx is doing on behalf of its members.
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JAC to launch judicial exercises

The details of two forthcoming judicial exercises, for which Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply, are set out below. Both exercises are expected to launch in spring 2017.

District Judge (Magistrates' Courts)

This exercise is to identify 17 candidates for the post of District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts). In order to apply, you must be a FCILEx with at least five years’ postqualification experience (PQE) engaged in law-related activities.

Salaried Judges of the First-tier Tribunal

This exercise is to identify candidates to recommend for the post of Salaried Judge of the First-tier Tribunal. There are 20 immediate vacancies and 20 vacancies which are expected to arise in the near future. Unlike previous exercises, which have sought to identify candidates for a particular chamber, this exercise will identify candidates who can be deployed to any of the First-tier Tribunal chambers. In order to apply you must:

• be a FCILEx, with at least five years’ PQE; or
• have gained experience in law which, in the opinion of the Senior President of Tribunals, makes you as suitable for appointment as if you satisfied the criterion above. Please note that additional selection criteria may be applied to both exercises, so you must check the JAC website regularly for updates, visit: https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk

Further information about the posts, the First-tier Tribunal and the selection processes will be available soon. Potential applicants should sign up to receive e-mail notifications concerning the progress of the judicial exercises from now until their official launch (see below).

• Subscribe to receive notifications about the District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) judicial exercise or the Salaried Judges of the First-tier Tribunal judicial exercise at: http://tinyurl.com/z62bnnk or at: http://tinyurl.com/gsgb27n respectively

Are you interested in being a mentor?

Maia Cohen-Lask, a Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) committee member, writes:

Never has there been a more difficult time for those wishing to work in legally aided areas of law. Successive cuts have resulted in training contracts being increasingly elusive, with those that are available being poorly paid. When coupled with the extremely high cost of law school, qualifying as a lawyer (if one is not entering commercial law) has become unaffordable and impractical for many. This is something about which YLAL has campaigned for many years.

One of our stated objectives is to increase social mobility and diversity within the legal aid sector, as well as promoting the interests of new entrants to the profession. We have always been big supporters of alternative routes into the profession, and in that context we regularly promote CILEx to our student members. At our careers event, which was held at London South Bank University in November 2016, our panel consisted of solicitors, barristers and CILEx lawyers, and this is a relationship we strive to continue.

One of the ways we aim to support our members is through the YLAL mentoring scheme. We receive regular requests from our members seeking advice and assistance from those further along in their careers. We have a database of mentors across all the traditionally publicly funded areas of law and based all over the country. Despite the diversity of our database, there is one area where we are sorely lacking: Chartered Legal Executives.

Volunteer to become a mentor

As a result of the realities of legally aided work, as well as our active attempts to promote CILEx as an attractive route into the profession, we have increasing numbers of potential mentees seeking advice and assistance regarding it.

Could you volunteer? Mentoring requests are sent out on an ad hoc basis, and to ensure that all pairings are well matched, you only get allocated a mentee if you volunteer specifically to mentor that individual. Contact can be via e-mail or in person, and the extent of communication is decided between mentor and mentee. Our mentors have described the experience as rewarding, and many have found that they get a real benefit themselves from mentoring students and junior members of the profession.

We know that there are talented and committed Chartered Legal Executives and solicitors who have qualified via the CILEx route, and who would be perfectly suited to give advice and guidance to aspiring legal aid lawyers. And we would like you to get in touch! Send us an e-mail at: ylalmentoring@gmail.com

 

Keeping fit in a sedentary job

Elizabeth Rimmer, director of LawCare, writes:

Legal working life for many is sedentary: lawyers do not spend much time on their feet. Physical inactivity currently costs the NHS in England around £1.8bn per year, and around £8.3bn to the wider economy in sick days and premature deaths. For lawyers working long hours in a job which, essentially, involves sitting at a desk all day, being active and keeping fit can be a challenge.

Walking is one of the easiest ways to meet your physical activity recommendations: it is cheap; requires no special equipment; and has a low risk of injury. Walking regularly, at any speed, can help to manage weight, boost the immune system and even reduce the risk of some cancers as well as osteoporosis. Brisk walking has even more benefits, including lowering blood pressure, improving heart and lung health, and raising mood.

The rise in the popularity of wearable fitness trackers means that there is probably someone in your workplace who is trying to get in their recommended 10,000 steps per day (including 250 per hour). Even if that person is not you, walking as much as possible throughout the day is not as difficult as you might imagine. The standard advice to take the stairs not the lift, to get off the bus/tube/tram one stop early or to park further away has been oft-repeated , but once you are at your desk, how can you factor those extra steps into your day?

• Always volunteer for the coffee run, and then collect the dirty cups afterwards and take them to the kitchen.
• Set your default printer to one on a different floor.
• Drink plenty of water (which has its own health benefits), and use a toilet on the other side of the building.
• Stand up and walk around when on the telephone. Not only will it help with your step count, but standing when you speak can make you sound more confident and authoritative.
• Go for a walk in your lunch break.
• Make the most of your fitness tracker. Many prompt you to move each hour. If yours does not or you do not have one, set an alarm on Google or an app to remind you to get up and move or stretch every hour.
• Put the waste-paper bin on the opposite side of the room.
• When meeting with local clients, colleagues or others offer to go to their office rather than have them come to yours.
• Go to speak to colleagues in person rather than e-mailing or telephoning.
• Encourage others at your workplace to get involved: leading lunchtime walks, holding walking meetings or an after-work running club (ensure that this will suit beginners).
• Even if you cannot walk about, standing is better than sitting, so if there is any aspect of your work you could do standing up, do it. Adjustable desks are available which convert from sitting to standing height.
• Walking 250 steps (recommended per hour by some fitness trackers) takes less than three minutes, so if all else fails, just get up and pace!
• Do not let a sedentary job take its toll on your health. With just a few changes, you could meet your fitness goals even at work.
• LawCare’s free and confidential helpline is available from Monday to Friday (9 am-7.30 pm) and at weekends and on bank holidays (10 am–4 pm). Telephone: 0800 279 6888 or visit: www.lawcare.org.uk

Redress the balance

Tim Stidolph FCILEx (retired) writes:

Shortly after we gained Chartered status, I happened to mention to a Fellow Chartered Legal Executive on the other side of a matter I was dealing with whether he was pleased with the development. His response was to the effect that Chartered Legal Executives were still ‘second best’. I believe this to be a not uncommon perception and degrades the efforts of all of those at CILEx, who have worked so hard to achieve the status for us as well as the efforts of the members themselves, who have worked so hard to qualify, often while working full time, perhaps to support a family (a more arduous route than training to be a solicitor) and sometimes as a single parent.

However, a review and comparison of the CILEx code of conduct with that of the Solicitors Regulation Authority will reveal that Chartered Legal Executives are obliged to adhere to higher ethical standards and obligations than solicitors. For example, principle 3.4 of the CILEx code puts CILEx members under an obligation to take action when they become aware of any misconduct by another member of the profession, not just fellow CILEx members, and report it to ‘the relevant authority’. This must surely put Chartered Legal Executives at the top of the professional ethics tree in their professional standing. If this became widely known and accepted, prospective clients could even begin to express a preference for their matter to be dealt with by a Chartered Legal Executive.

Added to this (although not unique to CILEx but can also be considered) is a CILEx Fellow’s status and responsibility in the discharge of a public office when acting as a commissioner for oaths. Chartered Legal Executives are clearly placed firmly at the top of the professional ethics tree, and therefore head and shoulders above solicitors; far from being ‘second best’ they are, in fact, way out in front.

This discovery greatly enhanced my self-esteem , and should do likewise for other members. As a result (and before I retired) I approached my job with a renewed feeling of self-worth and self-importance coupled with an incentive to do ‘what is right’ regardless of the situation and the circumstances. I feel proud to be able to say that I am a Chartered Legal Executive.

CLS awards Learning Certificate of Achievement

Jenny Pelling, director of business and apprenticeships at CILEx Law School (CLS), has just awarded a Festival of Learning Certificate of Achievement to Sills & Betteridge LLP.

CILEx Law School has been delivering legal training by distance learning to employees at the Lincolnshire-based firm for several years. Currently, 12 students are enrolled on courses for qualifications set by CILEx.

The firm recruits at non-graduate level for new staff to follow the CILEx qualifications, and also sponsors law graduates through the CILEx Graduate Fast-track Diploma. Responsibility increases during the period of study (typically five to six years) until the learner achieves full Chartered Legal Executive status.

On handing over the certificate, Jenny Pelling said: ‘At CILEx Law School, we have been struck by the pace at which some of the students from Sills & Betteridge LLP are working through their courses.

‘This is evidence of the environment created by the firm to support their employees in their studies. The learning is integrated into the role, and progression within the organisation follows achievement of the qualifications. 

 

 

Consultation round-up

CILEx has responded to Reforming the soft tissue injury (‘ whiplash’ ) claims process: a consultation on arrangements concerning personal injury claims in England and Wales. See also 'News round up' of this issue.

We are concerned that the proposals will remove innocent injured persons of their right to fair compensation, and deprive them of the independent legal advice they need to be able to enforce their legal rights. This will exacerbate the inequality of arms we already see between claimants and defendants, and sets a dangerous precedent for future reforms.

We are also concerned that this consultation has been launched without a fuller exploration of alternatives to the draconian measures on offer that would have the potential to achieve the desired policy outcomes without punishing genuine victims.

The following are highlights from CILEx members’ responses to the proposed reforms:

Severity and duration of injury

• 62% of surveyed CILEx members disagree or strongly disagree that duration alone is a sufficient measure for defining ‘minor’ road traffic accident (RTA) soft tissue claims.
• 78% of CILEx members, when surveyed, said that the duration threshold for ‘minor claims should be set at less than six months; 63% said that it should be less than three months; and 23% said that it should be one month (ie, four weeks).
• A Chartered Legal Executive in Merseyside said:

Four weeks’ disruption to one’s life would have much less impact than beyond. For short periods such as one month family and friends may be willing to assist and help out, work may be understanding, colleagues might be prepared to take up the slack - beyond that long term changes due to injury and limitations that they place upon victims can be massively disruptive to the life of victims and those they live and work with.

Compensation for ‘minor’ claims

• 94% of surveyed CILEx members disagree with removing pain and suffering and loss of amenity compensation from minor claims, with 78% strongly disagreeing.
• A CILEx Fellow specialising in personal injury from Stafford said:

I fail to see why we have insurance to protect us against third party claims, only to then preclude people from bringing a certain type of claim. If a person is injured through no fault of their own and due to negligence of another, they should have the right to bring a claim.

•  71% of surveyed CILEx members disagree with introducing a fixed sum for minor claims, with 54% strongly disagreeing.
• A Chartered Legal Executive from Liverpool said: ‘Every case has to turn on its own merits as this way some people would be over compensated and others under compensated.’

Raising the small claims limit

• 87% of CILEx members surveyed disagree with the proposal to raise the small claims limit for all personal injury (PI) claims to £5,000, and 86% disagree with it being raised for RTA-related PI claims.
• 95% of respondents disagree with the limit being raised above £5,000, with 82% strongly disagree.
• A Chartered Legal Executive from Spalding said: ‘Unless there is some costs benefits built in, many claimants will deal with claims without legal representation and, in all probability, struggle with the process.’
• A defendant lawyer from Manchester said:

As a defendant lawyer, I already deal with litigants in person (LIPs) and they would require a signifficant amount of assistance. These claims often result in increased costs and court time due to the likelihood that a LIP is unable to conduct the litigation effectively without representation. My experience is that a number of claims end up struck out due to the LIP's failure to comply with court directions - again this is an access to justice issue.

The citation for this Journal is (2017) February CILExJ. © CILEx 2017 ISSN 2050-0580. The 2017 subscription rate for the CILEx Journal for non-members of the Chartered Institute is £90 per annum UK; from £135 overseas. Single copies £7.50 including postage.

The CILEx Journal adopts an independent and inquiring approach towards the law and the legal profession. It is published for the benefit of members of The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and therefore aims to keep them properly informed of developments in the law and legal practice. As part of this objective, CILEx Journal will act as an authoritative source of information on Chartered Institute activities and policies. From time to time CILEx Journal could cover controversial issues. The editor shall have the final decision on matters of editorial policy or content but always strive to preserve and to enhance the good name of the Chartered Institute and its members. The views expressed should be taken as those of the author only unless it is specifically indicated that the Chartered Institute or CILEx Journal has given its endorsement.  Neither CILEx Journal nor  The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives accept liability to any party for any error, omission or misstatement by any contributor in any material published herein.