Welcome to myCILEx

Your life story

CILEx CEO Mandie Lavin invites you to tell her your real-life stories to promote the CILEx route and help others to understand how much it really takes to succeed in a legal career.

It’s been pretty busy since I arrived in January, but as the summer loomed I managed to slot in a holiday. I decided to enter a short story competition that was being run as part of the Henley Literary Festival. I sat down and drafted my tale while on that holiday. Being a lawyer, it had to be drafted carefully rather than simply written creatively. Well, it didn’t win the prize, but it did provoke some serious personal reflection.

Without even realising it, important parts of my own life were embedded in my entry. With hindsight, changing the names of some of the characters would have been a good idea, as, if it had been published in the original form, there may have been speculation among my friends about how far the fictitious characters reflected traits that could be found in some of my closest friends; however, having not been shortlisted or published, my entry was safe from further scrutiny, though that was not the end of the episode.

The tale I submitted focused on someone who was trying really hard to succeed in life and had major obstacles to overcome, and of course they were studying with CILEx! At the end of the story, their true potential was realised and they ascended through the ranks a prominent position in the legal world. Most importantly, they helped others telling their story; they nurtured talent, encouraged growth and offered training and personal mentorship to others.

This made me think about some of the people I met at the two-day CILEx graduation event earlier this year, and some of you may be reading this article now. I met students who had come through cancer treatment; managed to juggle caring responsibilities and work; and even a student who had given birth to seven children in the time it had taken her to get to Fellowship. Whatever route and however hard the journey, there were stories to be told about how the CILEx qualification had been embarked on and ultimately achieved.

I would like to invite you all to send in your life stories; we need to chronicle examples of success in the face of adversity, finding those who have capitalised on training and mentoring opportunities and ultimately realised their goals. The reasons we need to do this is to ensure that others know that it can be done, and the paths carved out by others are available and ready to be followed. And if it has been a breeze, you need to tell us that too because, sometimes, things do just fall into place with perfect order and precision. There are messages to be conveyed about CILEx, that is: with support, encouragement and focus your legal career is ready and waiting, so go and get it!

I would also like to invite those of you who are partway through your CILEx qualification - and wondering if you can go the extra mile - to contact me. Let’s meet, have some tea and biscuits, and recharge our batteries. I will see if I can win a short story competition, and I will see if I can help you succeed in your career.

• Contact Mandie Lavin, e-mail : mlavin@cilex.org.uk

Launch of Brighton and Hove branch

Victoria Crick, chair of the newly formed Brighton and Hove branch, writes:

The Brighton and Hove branch had a successful launch at Brighton’s quirky Marwood Café . We were pleased to welcome local CILEx lawyers, Obsidian Training (legal recruitment specialists), local chambers’ members, and from CILEx president David Edwards, CEO Mandie Lavin and others, to name but a few.

• If you would like to know more about the branch, or would indeed like to become involved, please contact: brightoncilex@gmail.com. Similarly, if you know anyone who may be interested in joining the branch, do tell them about us!

CILEx responds to court closure proposals

Louise Tyrrell, policy and law reform officer, writes:

We have responded to government proposals to close 91 courts and tribunals in England and Wales. These proposals come at a significant time in our justice system. The combined impact of reforms, legal aid changes and court fee increases cannot be underestimated.

We are pleased that the government has recognised that investment must be made to ensure the use of new, accessible and affordable technology throughout the court and tribunal estate. We have long argued that such technology, envisaged as long ago as the Woolf reforms, needs to be introduced. While we agree that better use of technology may lower the need for all court users to physically attend court hearings, for the closures to be implemented before the technology is in place to make this viable will not work in practice, and it is not going to produce the desired savings.

The closures may disproportionately affect those with disabilities. The government said that after the closures, 95% of people would be able to drive to their nearest court within an hour. However, not all households have cars, and public transport may not be a viable option for court users. More consideration should have been given to available public transport, routes, costs and affordability.

In its risk assessment, the government made all its assumptions on the basis that there is no change in court volumes, court fees or waiting times. As we know, the government is already increasing court fees. This will put court services out of reach for some, as we saw when employment tribunal claims fell by 67% following significant fee increases. Additional travel times may impact on non-attendance , increase waiting times and adjournments, or decisions being taken with only one party present, leading to more appeals, increased hearing numbers and costs.

*Proposal on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales: A response by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, available here.

Manchester cohort of property lawyers graduate

Susan Silver, CILEx council member and past president 2011/12, writes:

Countrywide deals in all areas of property. The company undertakes conveyances in purchases and sales, and has dedicated ‘property lawyers’ in specialised departments in Cardiff and Manchester. The property lawyers are regulated by CILEx Regulation.

I arrived at the venue, which was at Jamie Oliver’s ‘Italian’ and situated in an old bank in the banking sector of Manchester. The event was held in the vault, where all the safety deposit boxes were. Although all the boxes were empty, except for a few holding flickering candles (!!!!) , what an awesome atmosphere for a brilliant occasion. The senior director of Countrywide had undertaken a full ‘recce’ on me via Google and YouTube, and he seemed to know more about me than I knew about myself!

The evening began with a reception with bubbles, and we quickly got on to the main business of the evening. We went downstairs to the vault, and I was introduced and everyone present was so grateful for my attendance. I made my speech, and included all six graduates by name and as there were 17 people in total there was a very intimate atmosphere, which meant that I could go off line and put in a few jokes, etc. The graduates were then presented with their certificates, and are now oÿcially Grade A Property Lawyers. I learned that this is grade one on the first rung of a ladder which contains about five rungs, and therefore there is plenty of room for ambition. All graduates were presented with a gift of a beautiful pen, and I was presented with a magnificent pen set as a gift for attending.

Dinner was quite an event. The food was provided by the Jamie Oliver restaurant, and the conversation with Countrywide’s directors, admin staff and graduates revolved around the company’s qualifications and its academy, and CILEx. I was asked a lot of questions by Lawrence De Valle, the senior director, and this gave me the opportunity to answer with all 17 people listening. I got the message out there!!

I was asked if I would attend the oÿces in Manchester soon to have a formal photo taken and be given a guided tour, and obviously I said ‘yes’ . I was also asked if I would be so kind as to attend the opening of the new academy year in January 2016. I have been invited to keep a close aÿliation to Countrywide during this coming year, and of course I have accepted on behalf of CILEx. This is good because the oÿces in Manchester are easy enough for me to attend.

CILEx, all round, came out of this really well and I just ‘clicked’ with certain people at the event. I also had a marvellous time with the graduates; they were amazing and real CILEx fans.

The top ten things I will change if/when I rule the world – Part 2

Mike Bowen FCILEx is a conveyancing lawyer and a co-opted council member. Part 1 of this article appeared in (2015) October CILExJ pp38–41 .

Protocol forms and the protocol

This is one of my pet peeves, and I hope that when Veyo is launched these will become a thing of the past. The Law Society should allow everyone, be they licensed conveyancers or CILEx entity firms, to use the forms and protocol rather than hold on to their precious trademark.

Generally, the last version of the protocol has been a huge success. To make it better, I would have a standard time for completion back at 2 pm as I found that this avoided arguments and never caused a major problem that I have been aware of.

I would amend the TA6 Property Information Form so that all disclosable interests were clearly included (there is some argument that some are not listed). I would require the seller’s lawyer to send the draft transfer and replies to requisitions with the contract, on the understanding that the replies were only valid on exchange. I would also like to see a standard retention clause agreed, which is fair to all parties and deals with what happens if accounts are not produced by an agreed date.

Assured shorthold tenancies

As I understand it, any lease with a rent over £250 is an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) (ignoring the London exceptions). This means that rent arrears create an automatic right to forfeit, and the court has no discretion.

Certainly, with shared ownership leases this is an acknowledged problem, and lenders require us to get an undertaking from the housing association not to take action without advising them first. Many new builds now have rents over £250 and so are ASTs, which causes the problem outlined above.

The problem really is that the amount of £250 has not been increased; to do so may help, but the potential disadvantage is that developers will just up rent to the maximum they can. Perhaps the answer is to say that any residential lease over five years is no longer considered an AST.

Failing which, many leases will need to be varied so that the rent cannot exceed the AST lower limit. Rather as we used to do years ago, when it was illegal to charge a premium when rent exceeded two-thirds of the rateable value.

Build overs

The changes, in October 2011, to make private drains public sewers once they left your property were sensible, and solved issues regarding easements being needed. However, the changes create a problem which has not been addressed, and different water companies and councils seem to have different ideas on the answer.

If, in 2010, I built an extension over a drain that came from next door, across my garden and then went into the road to a sewer, I could do so (subject to building regulations). If I had built it before 1984, I may not have needed building regulations in respect of the drain, and pre-1936 I would have needed no consent.

However, now I have the situation where I have built over a public sewer, and have no build over agreement. If the sewer needs work, the water company can (in theory) dig up my extension and do not have to reinstate the property, and may require me to take steps to protect the sewer.

Depending on the size of the drain and whether or not Part H of Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations 2010 SI No 2214 applies will depend on whether or not the above can happen. Also different water companies have different interpretations of the problem although we are discussing with them this point.

Indemnity insurance is the answer you may say, and I would say, first, it is costly and, second, some of the policies I have seen only apply if the water company get an order under the Building Act 1984 as amended by statutory instruments (and often they will not obtain an Order, but do it as an emergency operation) and, third, if you are sitting over a sewer with a problem, you want action; however, asking for it to be investigated invalidates the policy.

What is needed is a sensible, clear amendment, so that either no consent is needed pre-October 2011 or perhaps consent is only required (as it now is) if the sewer is more than 150mm. This is becoming a significant problem, and of course is made worse as the definition of ‘built over’ is anything within 3m.

Lenders selling repossessed property

The Council for Mortgage Lenders should create a code, which has to be followed, that recognises that buyers’ lawyers have to comply with the Council for Mortgage Lenders handbook and the lenders should co-operate rather than just saying ‘no’ to everything that a buyer’s lawyer asks for which is needed. Lenders are obligated to assist the sale, and can be liable to the defaulting borrower if they do not assist, so it can be helpful to remind them of their obligations.

The contract should not be 20 pages and have loads of ridiculous conditions. The transfer must be handed over at completion.

I once asked the head of a wellknown lender’s fraud department at a conference: if the seller’s solicitor did not contract to hand over the transfer at completion would we be in breach of trust: she said ‘yes’ . So, I asked why her lender had such a clause in their contract selling a repossessed property. She had no answer.

Referral fees

Now, I expect that you think I am going to say ban them: I am not going to. There are arguments to say that they have a place in the scheme of things.

My problem is the amount involved. When it exceeds 50 per cent and the acting firm is getting £400 or less, experience tells me that they tend to employ people whose knowledge is limited (see my example below).

I would like to see a cap on the amount of referral fees, in the hope that the extra money will be spent employing more suitable people to do the work. I accept that there is a risk that it will just increase profit.

I saw this example on LinkedIn. A shared ownership lease was missing the staircasing provisions. The buyer’s solicitor asked for a deed of variation to correct this obvious error. The computer said ‘no’ . However, there had obviously been some human input as the reply given was: ‘This is a ground- floor flat, there is no need to have a staircase.’

LawCare: providing support for lawyers

Elizabeth Rimmer, director of LawCare, writes:

LawCare is a registered charity providing information and support to legal professionals working or training throughout the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey. Since we were founded, in 1997, we have helped thousands of lawyers and support staff with work-related issues, including stress, disputes with colleagues and alcohol misuse.

We support all branches of the legal profession, and we also offer advice to friends and families. We are here to help the legal community cope with the increasing pressures they face, any of which could adversely affect work performance and family life. There are probably very few lawyers who have not had some experience of what it can be like when you or a colleague feels that work is getting to you.

Lawyers are expected to cope with the demands of the job, and not coping can be seen as a sign of weakness. Lawyers often believe that they should be able to handle their own problems, and because they spend so much time resolving other people’s problems, they can find it diÿcult to acknowledge that they themselves may need help. They can, however, find it easier to take this step with another lawyer, which is where LawCare comes in. Our staff and volunteers have experience of practising law.

Telephone helpline

Our key service is our helpline, which provides a listening ear 365 days a year. Those taking calls on the helpline have first-hand experience of the demands faced by legal professionals today. Our free helpline is impartial, completely confidential and independent of the UK’s legal institutions.

Last year, 75% of our callers reported stress as the main reason for calling, with increased workloads, disciplinary issues and bullying being the main causes of this. Our helpline offers the chance to talk through your problem; it really does help to get things off our chest, and just communicating with someone who listens and understands can clarify the way forward. And even if a solution does not immediately present itself, talking about it can be very cathartic. Many of our callers say that they need no followup support: the talk on the helpline has helped them decide what to do.

We provide reassurance: in all the years we have been operating, we have heard most things before. We can also offer extra support and can put callers in touch with a LawCare supporter. These are fellow lawyers who have experienced and overcome diÿculties . They offer support to others on a one-to-one basis for as long as this is needed. We signpost callers to other support and benevolent agencies, and we keep a list of counsellors and therapists with particular expertise in working with lawyers.

Our website provides an overview of the support available, and our range of helpful factsheets can be found there for downloading. We also provide training and education on wellbeing.

• If you are concerned about something, no matter how big or small, get in touch, we are here to help.
  • LawCare telephone helpline: 0800 279 6888
  • www.lawcare.org.uk

CILEx at the Legal Wales conference

CILEx CEO Mandie Lavin writes:

The Legal Wales Conference had a record number of delegates in October this year, with a vast array of lawyers, judges, academics and even a few accountants attending.

The vibrancy of the Welsh legal sector was clearly apparent, with sessions focused on law reform, human rights, judicial appointments and family law, to name but a few. The dynamic legal landscape created by devolution is a fertile ground for debate and innovation, and is also a catalyst for change. In a compelling address by Lady Clark, the Scottish experience was shared, and her perspective on the complexities of interpreting the boundaries of devolved jurisdiction was fascinating.

The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the importance of it in the context of devolved powers reinforced my view that any future changes in that area would have to be crafted carefully and consulted on. Other matters of debate included changes to the administrative justice system in Wales, mediation, bilingual justice and the challenges of responding to technological changes that are moving at breakneck speed.

Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, who was greeted warmly, was among friends; he set out a vision for Wales as a jurisdiction leading the way.

CILEx was a proud sponsor of the conference, recognising our sound Welsh credentials and our continuing development in the jurisdiction. The contribution of Lynne Squires, CILEx’s development officer for Wales, was given a very special mention. After a day of networking and debate, the dinner event provided a further opportunity to cement our contacts and relationships; CILEx is held in extremely high regard in Wales, and the conference was a great opportunity to celebrate excellence.

Gtr Manchester branch hosts charity event

The Greater Manchester Branch hosted a presentation by the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. The foundation was formed following the horrific murder of Sophie Lancaster in 2007. Sophie, along with her boyfriend, Robert, was attacked by a number of males while walking through Stubbylee Park. As a result of her severe head injuries, she went into a coma. Sophie never regained consciousness, and died 13 days later. The police said that the attack may have been linked to the couple wearing gothic fashion and being members of the goth subculture. Five teenage boys were later arrested and charged with murder.

Sophie’s family wanted to ensure a lasting legacy to their beautiful, bright, creative daughter, and so the Sophie Lancaster Foundation was established.

It became a registered charity in 2009. The aims and objectives of the charity are as follows:

• to create a lasting legacy to Sophie;
• to provide educational group works that will challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures; and
• to campaign to have the UK hate crime legislation extended to include people from alternative subcultures or lifestyle and dress.

Sylvia Lancaster, Sophie’s mother, spoke of the death of her daughter and her experiences with the legal system. This was a heart-warming and thought-provoking event: it expressed diversity and acceptance in a nonconventional manner. It was both sad and heart-warming to listen to Sylvia’s story, and everyone who attended the event was touched and inspired by Sylvia’s words. ‘Black roses: the killing of Sophie Lancaster’ , a documentary about Sophie, and about Sylvia’s experiences, was aired on BBC Four in October.

• If you would like to find out further information regarding the charity, see here
• If you would like to join the Greater Manchester Branch, please contact Rachel Stevens, the branch chair.

CPD FAQ

Question: I forgot to log my CPD online by 30 September. What can I do to log my outstanding CPD for 2014/2015?

Answer: As your online access to the 2014/2015 CPD online logbook closed on 30 September 2015, and cannot be reopened, you will need to e-mail the details of any outstanding CPD activities to: CPD@cilexregulation.org.uk for it to be logged in the oÿce . Due to the large volume of e-mails received at the end of the CPD year, please allow 15 working days for a response to your submission.

CILEx responds to proposals to further increase court fees

Gus Ghataura, law reform officer, writes:

CILEx is urging the government to consider the wider impact of a further increase to court fees in its response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on further increases to court fees.

We submitted in our response that further increases without a solid evidence base, and in light of the scale and speed of change, may cause irreparable damage to the very concept the government is seeking to protect; access to justice. We noted in our response that the government’s own equalities statement, for example, recognises the increase in divorce fees to £550 will have ‘a greater impact on women’ (para 4.4). A further increase to issue a divorce petition is going to put this out of reach for many people, particularly women.

Earlier this year, a claim for £200,000 would have cost £1,515. From March 2015, that fee increased to £10, 000. A further proposed increase will take the fee to £20,000, an increase of 1,320%. The courts play a considerable public interest role and they contribute to a fair society.

We are calling on the government to carry out a review on the first round of fees before imposing further increases. There has not been adequate time to assess the impact of the fee increases announced in March 2015, let alone assess what impact a further increase might have. We are concerned that further increases without a solid evidence base will undermine access to justice for individuals and small businesses.

• Enhanced fees for divorce, possession claims and general applications in civil proceedings and consultation on further fees proposal, available here

Gtr Manchester branch puts best feet forward

The Greater Manchester branch took part in the North West Legal Support Trust (NWLST) Legal Walk in October 2015. Approximately 1,000 walkers took part in the walk, which covered 10km around Manchester City Centre. The walk started at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre, and walkers enjoyed the sights of Castlefield, Oxford Road, the Northern Quarter and Spinningfields.

NWLST is a grant-making charity, which raises and distributes funds to support free legal advice services and access to justice for all in the North West of England. The charities supported by the NWLST help to facilitate and support access to justice for the poorest and most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society. They provide free legal help to people facing problems, such as homelessness, debt, employment, family issues, mental health problems, discrimination and injustice, and they desperately need funds to support their work.

• If you would like to sponsor the branch, see here