If you want to get involved, #LegalPride 2019 is participating at three more scheduled events:

• Leeds Pride on 4 August
• Manchester Pride on 24 August
• Cymru/Cardiff Pride on 24 August

Our support for the First 100 Years and the Pride campaigns highlights our ongoing commitment to place equality and diversity at the centre of what we do, proudly representing CILEx’s all-inclusive member base and striving for greater representation of diversity in the legal sector.

Letter to the editor

Stephen Gowland, CILEx Past President 2013/2014 and CILEx Judge, writes:

I was very pleased to read about the second female CILEx judge; however, I was not very happy about the way the short article on page 49 appeared to dismiss those of us who are also qualified as solicitors: ‘Once Chloe takes up her position there will be four Chartered Legal Executives sitting as judges altogether, as well as several solicitors who qualified initially as Chartered Legal Executives.’ (‘Second female Chartered Executive judge’, (2019) Spring CILExJ p49).

Although I qualified as a solicitor, this was purely because, in those days, I was not able to be a partner or set up a firm as a Chartered Legal Executive or, unfortunately, be paid the same wage as my solicitor colleagues.

I have had to fight against prejudice over the years from fellow Chartered Legal Executives who have suggested I have abandoned CILEx. This caused me so much upset that I determined to help CILEx members achieve the same rights as solicitors. I also had to fight to change the prejudice that was within the rules of CILEx itself because, as a solicitor Fellow, the rules stated that I was not allowed to be a member of Council.

Around this time, I relaunched the Newcastle Branch and chaired it for around six years, despite the rules again stating that a solicitor Fellow was not allowed to chair a branch. Through this, I got to know people from head ofice and started trying to have the rules changed so that I, and others like me, could join Council.

Initially, via Diane [former CILEx CEO Diane Burleigh], I was able to persuade CILEx that a co-opted position be created to allow a solicitor Fellow to join council, which I applied for and obtained. I then started the slow job of changing the mindset of Council from within to allow Fellows to join Council, regardless of any additional qualifications they had. The first time I brought this matter up as an agenda item, it was defeated. I, however, persisted, and later in my term as a council member the rules were changed, and I was able to apply to be a full Council member and be eligible to become President.

Although I am qualified as a solicitor, I am first and foremost a Chartered Legal Executive, and I am very proud to be the first CILEx member, who started their career as a legal apprentice, to obtain a tribunal position. If it was not for CILEx and the employment training scheme I started when I was 17 years old, I would never have become a lawyer.

My story is probably very similar to many members and, like them, I have a real connection and - it is not too strong a word - love for CILEx and what it has given me. This is why I volunteered to take part in one of the judicial roadshows and have offered to help CILEx in any way I can.

One of the proudest moments of my time as President was to appear in parliament in front of MPs and peers to lobby for additional rights for our members to be able to set up their own law firms. This removed what most members saw as the main inequality between solicitors and CILEx members. I had hoped that this would have taken away the prejudice I experienced earlier in my career from both solicitors and Chartered Legal Executives. I think mainly it has, and this is helped by the fact that we are now able to be partners, judges and run our own firms.

I fought long and hard for the rights of Chartered Legal Executives and to be treated equally as a Fellow, and I do not want to read what could be taken as another slight on the fact that some of our members qualify as solicitors too. CILEx should be proud of the fact that many like me, who are solicitors too, want to remain members of CILEx and work with CILEx to promote the Chartered Institute, and we should never be dismissed or overlooked by CILEx.

I was instrumental in bringing in the lower membership fee so that solicitor Fellows could remain members of CILEx too as many of them, like me, have a home with CILEx and a sense of belonging that will never be the same as the relationship with the Law Society.

I hope you can understand my concerns regarding this and trust you will be able to correct this error. If a person such as me is sitting as a judge and is still a CILEx member, then they are a Chartered Legal Executive Judge and should be referred to as such.

Have a proper break this summer

Elizabeth Rimmer, director of LawCare, writes:

Many of us will find it difficult to leave the office for our summer holiday, and it can be very difficult to switch off, especially when technology has made it so easy for us to stay connected. Here are our tips to make your break as relaxing as possible.

Prepare
Discuss your workload with colleagues and find out who will be covering your work (it might be best to pass your work over to several people). Let clients know, as early as possible, that you are taking some time off and who they should ask for in your absence.

Set expectations
Use the last day or two before your holiday to clear the decks: put ongoing work into a holding pattern and update clients on the progress of their matter. Let your colleagues know whether you can be contacted, and under what circumstances: do not say you will be checking e-mail if you do not want - or will be unable - to do so. We suggest leaving your work phone and laptop at home, so the temptation isn’t there. It is not a break if you are mentally still in the office, and you will be better at your job if you return to work refreshed and well rested.

Checking e-mail
If you must check e-mail while away, disable e-mail notifications so you don’t pick up your phone every few minutes, and don’t carry your work phone around with you. You could ask a colleague to forward anything really urgent to your personal e-mail address, so you don’t need to look at all the other e-mails; alternatively, set certain times aside to check your inbox. Remember there may not be Wi-Fi or 4G where you are going, and different time zones may make it difficult replying to e-mails.

Out of office
Set an out-of-office and voicemail while you are on holiday. If you are worried about an avalanche of e-mails ask for important e-mails to be resent after you get back, or you might want to say you will be back a day or two later than you actually are to give you time to catch up.

Returning to work
In the first week back, you might want to book in something to look forward to: a yoga class or lunch with a colleague, for example. This is also a good time to review your working practices and analyse how your colleagues handled things without you. If you are finding it hard to adjust to being back at work, try to focus on what you love about your job and congratulate yourself for what you achieve during the first days of your return. If the holiday blues don’t dissipate after a few days, it might be time to think about your work life and whether it is making you unhappy. Perhaps you need to make some changes, or even look for a new role.

• LawCare provides emotional support to anyone working the legal profession through their helpline, peer support network and at: www.lawcare.org.uk You can contact the helpline on 0800 279 6888

News from the JAC

The latest news from the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).

Support for preparing your judicial application

The Pre-Application Judicial Education (PAJE) programme supports talented legal practitioners from underrepresented groups to feel more equipped, confident and prepared when considering applying for a future judicial role.

PAJE offers participants, from all legal backgrounds, the opportunity to develop their understanding of the role and skills required of a judge, through a series of digital resources, including short videos and podcasts, developed by the Judicial College, which show judges talking about their work and the judiciary.(See also pp33–35 of this issue.)

These digital resources cover a number of topics such as: judgecraft; decision-making; judicial ethics; resilience; and equality and diversity. They are available on the UK Judiciary website: http://bit.ly/2Kvo7FP

Sign up to test-run the JAC’s selection materials

If you are considering judicial appointment and want to experience what the application process involves, you can volunteer to be a mock candidate.

The JAC dry-runs online qualifying tests, role plays and interviews for selection exercises to ensure that the selection materials are fair and robust. We are looking for mock candidates to test-run elements of the selection process.

Thankfully, the reality beats the perception. A cohort of those surveyed had actually claimed before, and of those, 71% actually rated the experience positively. Payout rates are almost double the perception, too. Insurance companies often have payout rates of over 90% of all the claims they receive, and the insurer behind HMCA’s Income Protection Plus product can boast a very reassuring pay-out rate of 97% of all their claims over the past three years.

Make the most of your membership

If you want to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, income protection makes perfect sense. In return for a small proportion of your salary each month, the HMCA Income Protection Plus plan can cover up to 70% of your income, or £1,200 per week (whichever is lower) while illness or injury prevents you from working until you return to work or reach age 65. And it gets better. When you join a Profit Share Account is created for you, depositing your share of the Society’s profits each year. You can claim this as a lump sum when you choose to leave the scheme or when your policy matures.

Best of all?

As a member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives you are entitled to 10% off your first two years of cover*.

To find out more call HMCA on 01727 228571 or email ip@hmca.co.uk or visit www.hmca.co.uk/ip to get an instant quotation.

* For full Ts&Cs, visit our website at: https://www.hmca.co.uk/incomeprotection-plus.html

Insured and Administered by PG Mutual. HMCA Care Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of PG Mutual, the trading name of Pharmaceutical & General Provident Society Limited.

Registered office: 11 Parkway, Porters Wood, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 6PA. Incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Friendly Societies Act 1992, Registered Number 462F. PG Mutual is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, Firm Reference Number 110023.​

​