Millicent Grant

Millicent Grant FCILEx QC (Hon):
how I shattered the glass ceiling

Millicent Grant, the first Chartered Legal Executive to be appointed an Honorary Queen’s Counsel, spoke to CILEx Journal about her professional and personal life.

I am most proud of becoming the first non-white President of a legal professional membership organisation in the UK. It is an achievement I was elected to fulfil

Journey into the law

Having decided I wanted to qualify as a legal executive, I had to meet the then ILEX’s requirement to be working in a law firm at the same time as studying. There were two options open to me: becoming an outdoor clerk or becoming a secretary.

As I had taken a secretarial and office practice course during my last year at school and had some qualifications, I chose the secretarial route which, for me, was the better option.

At the Law Society, in Chancery Lane, there was a ‘registry’ of sorts. This consisted of two folders: one containing details of those seeking work and the other containing details of vacancies. This is where I started my search and made applications in response to the vacancies advertised. I did not define myself or limit my potential by feeling I had to adhere to the expectations others may have had of me based on my background. I did the necessary research, securing three job offers before I left school.

Family life

I was brought up in south London with my two sisters. My father lived abroad during my teens and part of my childhood. He died when I was in my 20s. He too was involved with his community and was part of an organisation that developed and supported young men. We are a close-knit family, with a network of extended family and friends and neighbours. I attended a church close to where I lived and had a close-knit circle of friends and families. The youth group I was part of had strong positive support from our youth leaders.

As a youth group, we took responsibility for our own programme and development and, with the support of our leaders, reached out to the community and arranged, and took part in many types of events and activities, including coffee bars and concerts. Those leaders have reproduced themselves in us, and the board I now chair has many members who I grew up with.

Inspiration and ambition

My initial inspiration was a photograph of my uncle in his barrister’s wig and gown, which hung on a wall in my home. It was a powerful image for a young child, and set aspirations in me at an early age. He came to England to join the RAF during the Second World War. When the war ended, he qualified as a barrister and then migrated to Nigeria, where he set up a law firm and practised until his retirement. He took an unexpected route for someone who grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. I only met him on one occasion when I was growing up, when he visited England for a holiday.

Shortly before my inauguration as President of CILEx, I learned that my uncle had acted in a significant case that later changed British law. As a result, he was invited to address the Law Lords in parliament.

It is interesting that, decades later, I appeared before the House of Lords Constitution Committee and addressed peers on diversity in the judiciary. I, who had been a little black girl, a daughter of immigrants, growing up in South London, with ambition.

I have also been inspired by my mother who encouraged me to ‘set my goal and stick to it’ and to ‘cut crooked and run straight’ when I had to change jobs to gain the experience I needed to qualify, either because opportunities were not what I expected, or circumstances changed. I took my examinations more than once before I passed; she encouraged me with many proverbs and sayings, including: ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again’ and I did. Another thing she would say to me when I doubted my ability was: ‘When men on earth have done their best, angels in heaven cannot do better!’ That gave me a sense of perspective at the time.

My mother has also been an example and inspiration to me with her life. I watched her balance her family responsibilities, work-life, civic life (she was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen and received service medals for her service in St John Ambulance and a civic award for her community work in her local borough) plus have time for her hobbies and friendships.

Often example, without words or direction, can be the strongest influence and, on reflection, I can see that has been the case with me in my personal life as well as in my professional life. My uncle and mother are just two of many who have inspired me.

From legal secretary to CILEx President

My first job in the legal profession was as a junior legal secretary for a firm in King’s Bench Walk, Temple in London. It was an excellent place for me as it was a small friendly firm, with an informal, family-like culture and roots going back into the 1800s. I started in the days when one could expect to spend the whole of one's working life working for the same employer. However, this job ended when the firm was taken over by a much larger firm that was not prepared to support my legal studies.

My worst job was when I worked in a debt collection and insolvency team. The workload was extremely heavy, and our team had to come in over the weekends to get through the work. During this period, I experienced - and witnessed - some of the worst managerial behaviour as well as some admirable examples of it. This was a time when employment law was developing from basic contract law, and it was at this point that my interest in employment law developed.

My best jobs are those that stretched me. One was in one of the Home Counties. The firm was run very efficiently, with good accommodation and a good corporate social life, which included entertaining clients. Unfortunately, my role became redundant when the corporate client that provided the work changed their arrangements. This redundancy led to the other job which I enjoyed because it stretched me. Moving from a private practice firm in the country to an inner-city London borough was a culture shock. However, a six-week holiday cover job led to me staying for 12 years; gaining additional qualifications and a promotion to a senior managerial role; and experience in various areas of law!

Casework success

My biggest successes in my casework have been marked by quantity and complexity. My first was dealing with approximately 200 finance and hire contracts that had been fraudulently procured at an annual event. The others related to complex employment law cases: one, arising from a restructuring exercise which involved multiple applicants, some having made more than one application and several causes of action, including allegations of victimisation for trade union activities.

These cases were almost overwhelming in the work they generated. I considered these to be successes because I was able to see them through to the end and did all I had to do to achieve that. Both cases made me aware of the need for managers to be supported, throughout their role, to make difficult decisions, behave compassionately and objectively, and not to take things personally.

My experience as an employment lawyer also taught me the importance of how individuals respond to actual and perceived injustices. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it. These lessons led me to train as a personal performance and corporate and executive coach, so I could support managers and employees in the workplace.

My other success is working for a limited company, which I have now been doing - in addition to other work - for more than 10 years. I decided to offer transferrable skills and knowledge that I enjoy using. The fact that the risk of starting up on my own, without the security of a permanent job and successfully maintaining that working model, is an achievement that I am proud of.

Professional highs

My personal professional achievements are being elected to become CILEx President and successfully fulfilling that role. Both that appointment and my recent appointment as Honorary Queen’s Counsel are acknowledgments, by others, of qualities they have seen in me and the work I have done apart from my day-to-day casework.

I am most proud of becoming the first non-white President of a legal professional membership organisation in the UK. It is an achievement I was elected to fulfil. Many have informed me that they have been inspired by this achievement, and I am happy to have been given the opportunity to represent CILEx members and inspire them. However, the appointment as an Honorary Queen’s Counsel has been the biggest surprise and honour.

I have worked in different areas of law, conducting complex, commercial litigation and employment and corporate governance matters. All this has enabled me to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to move forward despite being made redundant twice. I had considered leaving the legal profession at least twice during my career. My greatest achievement is remaining within the legal profession, remaining hopeful through the challenges and difficulties, and maintaining a positive attitude.

Entering the business world - following my departure from working full time as an employed lawyer to running my own business - was an eye-opener for me. Work does not land on my desk unless I make it happen.

This much I know …

The award of Honorary QC to Millicent Grant has shattered the equivalent of the glass ceiling for Chartered Legal Executives. In her capacity as a role model CILEx lawyer, she shared the benefit of her experience and offered some valuable insights.

Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve – what you want your career or your life to be like.
You can write your own life story, but you need to be flexible to navigate plot changes!
Speak to the right people, ie, those who can say ‘yes’ to what you want or need.
Be prepared to negotiate and see things from different points of view. Compete against yourself and not others; give assistance to others. This will help to develop a constructive attitude and better professional relationships.
Develop your own skills and experience: ability and achievement is more to do with mindset than privilege.

Lifetime influences

Some of the strongest influences have not necessarily been from people. Sometimes experiences have taught me lessons that have influenced my view of myself, other people, difficult circumstances and my perspective of life generally. I have a strong sense of fairness and justice, my own independence and sense of self. I have experienced injustice and unfairness myself and witnessed it around me.

I have always enjoyed reading and am interested in how we develop as individuals. From an early stage in my career, alongside my legal studies, I have taken informal (and some formal) courses in topics such as counselling, NLP, and transactional analysis, and I have an interest in teachings of the faith community I am part of. All this was related to my self-development and the voluntary work I did with young adults to support and change lives and develop tools to negotiate challenging situations. I have learned a lot about people and the importance of process from my work as a coach. All these have helped me to understand myself and others more and be patient and respectful when working through difficult relationships and circumstances, both of which I have encountered at various stages of my career.

Working as a locum for a number of years has helped me to develop the ability to feel secure in the midst of insecurity and quickly develop strategies to ‘jump in and run’ when having to learn new areas of law and work within different structures. I have had to be humble enough (some would say wise enough) to ask for assistance when I need it and not feel I have to know it all – not to be afraid to admit what I don’t know - and know how to find what I need for myself if I have to. We learn constantly throughout life and there should be no embarrassment in acknowledging that. Lack of knowledge is not necessarily an indicator of potential. It is something that can be addressed.

Watching how people successfully navigate difficult relationships and circumstances has also provided points of learning. I am my own person and tend to dance to the beat of my own drum. It never occurred to me that I couldn’t achieve my goals, once I had set them.

Queen's Counsel Appointments Ceremony 2020

On 16 March, Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC MP presided over the formal appointment of all those receiving the rank of Queen’s Counsel at this year's appointments ceremony. There were 10 awards this year for Honorary Queen’s Counsel to individuals who have made a 'significant contribution to the law of England and Wales outside practice in the courts'. The Lord Chancellor said of Millicent Grant: [Her] commitment to excellence in legal practice, as well as driving diversity and social mobility truly enriches our legal sector. She is the first person of a non-white/ minority ethnic background to lead any legal professional membership body in this country.

‘Aha!’ moments

Having left school with what I describe as a handful of qualifications that were considered relevant, eventually passing the CILEx Fellowship exams was a big achievement. I had halted the process after qualifying as a then ILEX Associate. At the point when I decided I wanted to do more, I was faced with the decision of continuing with the CILEx qualification or starting afresh with a qualification from the Institute of Personnel and Development as working in human resources appealed to me. I completed the CILEx qualification as I was already part qualified.

The desire to do more interesting work and take on more responsibility where I was working led me to study for a master’s degree in business law. I saw an advertisement for the distance-learning master’s degree at De Montfort University. The advertisement said the course was ‘suitable for Legal Executives’. The thought of doing such a degree had never entered my mind. I remember thinking that I was a legal executive and if De Montfort University thought I could do it then, surely, I could!

After passing with merit, I was then given the opportunity to study for a post-graduate certificate in management, which was offered as part of my employer’s equality action plan. It was part of my plan to position myself for more interesting work, responsibility and a senior role and, shortly after I gained my Master’s degree, as a result of a restructure I was promoted to a senior managerial role in a new team, enabling me to develop new skills and experience. Philosophy of life I believe that we are each created for a purpose, with intrinsic value and potential, and it is not so much where we start that matters but what we become along life's journey. We touch each other’s lives, and what you contribute to the lives of others comes back to you in different ways. I have found it important to take time out for myself to nurture my inner self. For example, I enjoy singing and have performed by myself, with groups and choirs, and with famous stars and at celebratory events.

Choosing to say ‘yes’

My maxim during my presidency was ‘progression in the profession’, which I defined as personal and professional progression for CILEx members during my presidential year. A few years ago, I made the decision to say ‘yes’ more often than I say ‘no’ to new opportunities and experiences.

All my work with CILEx, and the appointments and opportunities arising from my work with CILEx, occurred as a result of me saying ‘yes’ to an invitation to consider applying for a position as a co-opted member of CILEx Council. I received that invitation as an indirect result of my having said ‘yes’ to a part-time assignment in a regional authority (an opportunity I was made aware of via a member of my network). When I returned to London, I said ‘yes’ to an invitation to attend a relaunch of the CILEx Essex branch. All those ‘yeses’ could have been ‘nos’, and my professional life would no doubt have taken a completely different route. All those ‘yeses’ introduced me to new experiences and pushed me to confidently take chances.

I am still committed to equality and diversity and justice issues: to helping and supporting individuals to develop their lives and careers using my employment, corporate governance and wider knowledge and experience.

Being CILEx President: ‘A distance relay not a sprint’