CILEx Graduation and Admission Ceremonies 2017

#CILExGraduation:
celebrating the Class of 2017

In an event that is always the highlight of the CILEx year, three Graduation and Admission ceremonies took place over the course of one day in October.

CILEx was joined by over 750 guests (plus 23 under five year olds, who were all very well-behaved, including a seven-day-old baby!) at the 2017 Graduation and Admission Ceremonies, held in Milton Keynes in October. At the ceremonies:

Congratulating the graduates on their achievements, CILEx President Millicent Grant, said: ‘You are ascending in a profession that is made up of people from all walks of life; indeed, the legal profession as a whole is richer and more representative because people like you are entering it: people from a broad range of backgrounds; people with other life experiences; people who are maybe having their second career.

 You are ascending in a profession that is made up of people from all walks of life; indeed, the legal profession as a whole is richer... because people like you are entering it

‘That is important for the people we serve – the public. They need to have confidence that they are talking to someone who understands them, not someone who is elite, or distant. Social integration matters – social mobility matters – representation at all levels matters.’

The keynote speakers who addressed the graduates highlighted the increasing opportunities available to them, with particular emphasis on careers within the judiciary:

HHJ Jinder Singh Boora is an experienced Crown Court Circuit Judge, with expert knowledge of legal systems around the world. He is a Diversity and Community Relations Judge. In this role, he undertakes engagements with community projects and groups, to help bridge the legal system with those most in need of its protective powers.

Jinder has a particular interest in human rights and how the law can aid empowerment of disadvantaged communities. He also mentors Chartered Legal Executives who are preparing for judicial appointment as part of the CILEx Judicial Development Programme.

When I was asked to come and give a speech at this event, I jumped at the chance. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives is an organisation that is close to my heart for one very simple reason; it provides a route into the legal profession and, increasingly, the judiciary, to people from non-traditional backgrounds.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP was appointed as Solicitor General in 2014, after being elected MP for South Swindon in 2010. Born in Llanelli, he studied law at Durham university, and was Called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1991.

As Solicitor General, Robert is one of the government’s senior legal advisers, with responsibility for superintendence of the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Service Prosecuting Authority, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Serious Fraud Office. He also established and chairs the Solicitor General’s Panel on Public Legal Education of which CILEx is a member.

There is another potential goal that I would like you to hold in your minds, and that is to enter the ranks of the judiciary.

We are fortunate in this country to be served by one of the world’s finest judiciaries, but we have still yet to truly unlock the full pool of talent available to perform this most critical public function.

The great personal drive, and diversity of membership and perspective of CILEx members makes you ideally suited to serve in our courts and tribunals. And we must ensure that you are given the opportunity to do so.

Andrea Coomber, director of JUSTICE, has headed the organisation since February 2013. JUSTICE is an all-party law reform and human rights organisation working to strengthen the justice system – administrative, civil and criminal – in the UK.

Between 2002 and 2013, she was equality lawyer and then legal director at the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights, where she litigated key cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For a decade, Andrea trained lawyers and judges on international law and equality law in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. She is qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Australia. Andrea is an Honorary Master of the Bench of Middle Temple.

As you know, Chartered Legal Executives are the most diverse of the legal professions. It is among your number that a more representative judiciary is to be found, and while it may seem a long way away, I hope that you understand that the possibilities open to you are limitless.

Photography by: Abraxas Photography

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