High standards
CILEX president Caroline Jepson praises the dedication and achievements of CILEX members and reiterates CILEX’s commitment to supporting them through every stage in their careers
Our members have extraordinary resilience and strength and I continue to be unbelievably proud of what they can achieve, even in the most challenging of times. Whilst I don’t want to give the pandemic any more airtime than is absolutely necessary – it’s done enough to test us all – seeing your achievements and success stories, even against the backdrop of Covid, really is fantastic.
Since becoming president last July, I have enjoyed immensely the conversations I have had with members and in the last edition of the Journal I talked about how the determination and drive seen amongst our membership serves the legal professional so well.
No short cut
In November, I was thrilled to attend and speak at our graduation ceremony at Central Hall Westminster in London. It was a true honour to meet so many of our members and their families and to be back together again in person.
"I want our members to excel, to seize the opportunities open to them and for all our members to have the confidence to take the next step in their careers"For the 370 new Fellows, Advocates and Graduates, just getting to graduation day was no small feat. Every day, I see the exceptionally high standards of legal professionalism that CILEX demands of its members. It is no short cut to professional recognition, quite the contrary.
The road that so many of our members have travelled has often been challenging, calling for great resilience and personal commitment. Reading, exams, assignments, hours of work, all accomplished whilst holding down a job, trying to progress in your career and whilst giving high-quality service to clients and colleagues.
I hope that those of you who gathered together that day to celebrate such an important career milestone took inspiration from your peers, from our CILEX companions and from Millicent Grant, who spoke to graduates on the day about the importance of diversity in the legal profession and the role CILEX lawyers have to play.
I want our members to excel, to seize the opportunities open to them and for all our members to have the confidence to take the next step in their careers, continuing to show the diligence and commitment they have demonstrated by coming this far.
Significant headway
In his update, our chair, Chris Bones, talks about the great work which has been done by the CILEX executive team and your boards over recent months and the next steps in our strategic plan.
We are making significant headway with the big legislative changes that are long overdue and we remain determined in our mission to change the attitudes of employers and other parts of the legal sector when it comes to the treatment of CILEX members.
As always, we need you to help us to help you, and you can do this by continuing to complete our annual member survey – and if you have CILEX member colleagues, please encourage them too. The more responses we have, the better understanding we have about what is happening in your professional lives.
Value of membership
This month we have seen a significant number of members renewing their CILEX membership; the commitment to your professional organisation is great to see and so important as it allows us to press ahead with breaking down those barriers which have held us back for far too long.
The CILEX board and I remain as focused as ever on the value of CILEX membership and ensuring you receive the support and services you need to develop in your careers. CILEX has recently appointed Patrick Cullen as head of membership and I have already had some very productive meetings to discuss his ideas around driving meaningful engagement with members, ensuring members are supported and inspired, and meeting member needs through every stage of their careers.
I am excited about Patrick’s appointment and looking forward to working more closely with him. Your feedback, thoughts and ideas are always welcome and I would encourage you to get in touch.