Gardens: old and new

CILEx CEO Mandie Lavin writes:

Spring is here, and it is a time associated with new life and new beginnings as we watch snowdrops and daffodils emerge; it can be an energising season and time to reflect. Maybe the law is like a garden: some parts flourish and other parts will, in time, wither and fade away. For some of us, as spring arrives, we will be in the midst of planning for a new home; starting a new relationship; having a baby; or thinking about a new job.

As I have met CILEx members and students over the last year, I have been amazed at their versatility and ability to adapt to change. The flexibility and open-mindedness of our members helps them to succeed in the workplace, and for some the experience of managing many years of study, alongside family and caring commitments, demanding working hours and the challenge of carving out a niche practice, has developed resilience and stamina which surprises those they work with. They are catalysts for change and they plant ideas that flourish.

Society values legal traditions, and some of our ancient institutions are still some of the most highly regarded. A legal career is a valued and privileged pathway, and as we all know this pathway is not paved with gold in the way some might think. The rewards of helping a client in distress, saving someone’s home or safeguarding their children, and upholding the rule of law are rewards of a very different type. Lawyers make a difference, and the standards and ethics that bind us together must not be undermined or disregarded. As we debate our future in an online legal environment or even in our day-to-day job, high standards of service delivery - and the diligence with which we undertake our work - are the things that matter to clients and those we serve.

With fundamental reviews underway of the legal services market by the Competition and Markets Authority, consultations about increasing regulatory independence, debates about fixed costs being extended to a range of cases and the establishment of online courts, it seems that the legal world is in a bit of a spin.

The CILEx Group is also undergoing a period of change and transition. The organisation has been restructured to ensure that we can be more commercial in our approach, and capitalise on the opportunities that a changing market place will bring. We are striving to be evermore cost effective, with changes to customer service and by streamlining our services to members. The cost of delivery in aspects of our work needs to be reduced, so we can ensure that members do not have to pay more for the same services; we also need to invest in our members and their futures.

The garden of the law will continue to grow and CILEx will stand tall, with our members becoming more prominent and flourishing throughout 2016.

CPD FAQ

Question: I am studying at the moment, so do I need to log CPD?

Answer: If you are a CILEx Practitioner, Fellow, Graduate or Associate member, you are required to log CPD annually to comply with the regulations. While we recognise that full-time or part-time study can contribute towards your CPD requirements, you do need to ensure that this is logged on ‘myCILEx’ in the same way you would log attendance at a CPD course or in-house training session. CILEx will not automatically assume that you wish to rely on your studies to make up part of the annual CPD requirements. Therefore, it is important that you inform us of your CPD activities every year through myCILEx.

Seven-year rule abolished

Vicky Purtill, CILEx’s director of education, writes:

In December 2015, the Legal Services Board (LSB) approved the rule change which will enable prospective CILEx members to seek partial exemption from the CILEx qualifications, where they hold appropriate alternative legal qualifications, whenever those qualifications were completed.

What was the seven-year rule?

This rule precluded individuals from seeking partial exemption from the qualifications required to become a Chartered Legal Executive, if the qualification on which they sought to rely was more than seven years old. The rule was applied to a range of qualifications, including A-level law and the qualifying law degree. It did not include applicants who had completed the Legal Practice Course or the Bar Professional Training Course.

Why did the rule exist?

The rule existed to ensure that legal knowledge and skills were not stale at the point of admission to membership. However, there was no evidence to support seven years as the appropriate cut-o ff point when knowledge becomes too stale to be of value, and the rule took no account of the further assessment that these members would have to satisfy. This includes completing additional CILEx qualifications and Work Based Learning as well as the annual CPD requirements for members, which ensures that legal knowledge and skills remain up to date.

The CILEx consultation

Before CILEx Regulation considered requesting the rule change from the LSB, CILEx consulted members to test opinion. The proposal to remove the rule was supported by more than 75% of the members who responded, and almost 90% of respondents agreed that further CILEx qualifications, Work Based Learning and CPD were all mechanisms which would provide the necessary reassurance - to CILEx and CILEx Regulation - that members holding alternative legal qualifications, which were more than seven years old, had current legal knowledge and skills. Eighty-one per cent of respondents agreed that accepting alternative qualifications ensured that there was flexibility and accessibility in the CILEx route to qualification as a lawyer.

CILEx considered all the responses received very carefully. Although generally very well received, the proposal was not universally supported, primarily as existing members considered that the change would enable others to bypass the traditional route to qualification, which could lead to a dilution of the CILEx brand, and that the knowledge and skills developed in a degree more than seven years ago would be out of date.

When we considered these comments, we noted that alternative legal qualifications have been accepted for a number of years and CILEx created the Graduate Fast-track Diploma to enable those with a qualifying law degree to progress through the CILEx route; therefore, although the change will allow those with older qualifications to join CILEx, the change would not enable a wider range of qualifications to be accepted, so the brand would not be diluted. In relation to knowledge and skills becoming stale, the key to ensuring that these are up to date is through ongoing CPD requirements; further study for the CILEx qualifications; and Work Based Learning.

We think that the changes which have taken immediate effect will benefit a number of prospective CILEx members, enabling them to join CILEx and qualify as Chartered Legal Executives without the need to duplicate assessment. This will have the effect of enhancing flexibility and accessibility without compromising on standards.

Keeping up appearances

Many lawyers - male and female – feel that it is imperative to keep up appearances. There is the conviction that you have to look good to give the impression that you are a proficient professional with ambition and drive. This can sometimes mask a multitude of hidden problems: acute anxiety; panic attacks; or feelings of being unable to cope, for example. There are lawyers who outwardly seem confident and competent, but wake with knots in their stomachs as they dread going to work, sweat when the phone rings, hate talking to clients, and dread a colleague reviewing a piece of work.

Those who experience these issues worry that there is a stigma attached to stress and anxiety: that it may prevent them being successful, or stop them being taken on in other positions. However, despite these concerns it is important to listen to what your body and mind are saying.

When you are feeling overwhelmed, try the following:

• Talk to your supervisor or a colleague (remember take a note afterwards and keep it for future reference) or to HR.
• Learn to say ‘no’ in a constructive way, for example, asking the work provider to reprioritise your desk for you (and try to get this in writing).
• Go to your GP and get an MOT for yourself (as you would for your car) to see if there is any underlying condition that can be diagnosed and changed.
• Consider counselling paid for by yourself, by the NHS or through your firm.
• Recognise when you have a stress trigger (the symptoms are different for each of us) and immediately after the episode take a few minutes to recover. (This prevents the body storing stress chemicals, thus minimising their impact, and helps you to avoid being wound up like a spring at the end of the day).
• Long hours are sometimes unavoidable, but don’t let them be the norm. After a particularly gruelling day, try to arrange to come in later the next morning.

It’s important to acknowledge what is happening to you. Keeping up appearances for everyone else is one thing, but telling yourself that you are fine and coping when you are not is something else.

Don’t worry that others around you seem to be much better at coping. Not only might they be putting on an act too, but not everyone responds in the same way to stress: your response doesn’t lessen you as a person. Don’t put on a brave face and struggle on: own your feelings, and see your GP for an honest discussion. You could also contact the LawCare helpline for free and confidential support.

*Our helpline on 0800 279 6888 is available 365 days of the year, from 9 am to 7.30 pm on weekdays, and from 10 am to 4 pm at weekends and public holidays, or visit here.

Obituary

John Hooper

David March FCILEx (the then ILEX president 1992/93) writes:

John Hooper died peacefully, on 28 December 2015, following a brave and dignified two-year battle against illness. John had always practised law in Yeovil, having joined Porter Mangnall (later to become Porter Dodson) straight from grammar school in 1963. Significantly, 1963 was the year of the inception of CILEx, then ILEX, following the transition from the Solicitors’ Managing Clerks’ Association.

John was always successful in his ILEX exams to the extent that, in the then Part 2 examinations, his law of contract paper had the highest marks in England and Wales, and as such received the valuable prize of £50. John was clearly an academic, who also had the ability to apply his knowledge in the practise of law. He was predominantly a specialist in all forms of land law, be it residential, commercial or agricultural.

Having practised myself in the same field of law, it was always a privilege and most helpful to have John acting on the opposite side of a transaction. His knowledge and calm manner at all times ensured the smoothest of transactions to be completed, no matter what twists and turns took place during the process of the conveyancing. His door was always open to assist others, and there are many in practice today who owe much to the tutorship given by John.

He remained with Porter Dodson for 39 years, and after a short spell with Jeremy Wood & Co in Yeovil, he joined Batt Sanders & Bennett in Yeovil for some eight years until he retired at the age of 65. Although he remained a bachelor, John was very much a family man and at all times, as with his clients, he put his sisters and nephews and nieces first.

John always supported the Somerset branch of CILEx, and his spare-time passions were car rallying and power boating either as a competitor or supporter. It is no surprise that at his funeral it was standing room only, with many of those attending being former colleagues and clients.