CILEx

A message from the CEO: Our priorities post the pandemic

Linda Ford reveals how CILEx plans to survive and thrive post-COVID-19.

I write as the government starts to lift many of the restrictions we have been living with for the past few months, and CILEx, the legal sector and society more generally can now start to assess what life, post the pandemic, looks like.

Virtual AGM and Inauguration event

Reflecting on what was a very successful first-ever virtual AGM and Inauguration event, attracting participation from over 200 members, having seen huge interest in our webinars and podcasts during lockdown, and course sales driven up by those wanting to expand their career options, it is hard to imagine returning to many pre-COVID-19 norms.

Investments, upgrades and priorities

Our investment, in 2019, in our new customer relationship management system (CRM), the upgrades made to our Virtual Learning Platform and our move onto cloud-based systems have all meant that, over the last few months, we have not only been able to continue to provide all of our member services, but, from our home-based offices, we have also been able to make significant progress in the development of our strategic projects.

We have established a clear set of priorities for the next 12–18 months focusing on the following:

Launching our new professional qualification framework This will combine business, personal effectiveness and tech skills together with legal knowledge and practice, giving our graduates the edge when it comes to jobs of the future. For existing members, the new qualification framework will offer CPD, top-up courses to obtain practice rights, and conversion programmes to support career development whether seeking promotion, changing jobs, or pursuing new opportunities. Our new education products will formally launch in 2021, but we will be sharing more details with you later this year.

Our manifesto for change A lobbying campaign designed to raise awareness of issues - whether legislative, policy or behavioural practices - which mean that our members do not have access to the same opportunities or rights as other lawyers. Through both member engagement and our policy work, we will identify barriers that still exist within the legal sector and justice system, and raise this at the very highest levels of government or with the firms that continue to favour solicitors over CILEx lawyers.

We will call out working practices and attitudes that are outdated or discriminatory, and fight hard to secure the changes needed to make these a thing of the past. We will educate those who do not understand the value and academic rigour of our qualification route and show them why our members have not only the technical skills and experience to practise law, but are also better equipped to service the needs of clients.

Enhancing our membership package This will include products, services and information tailored not only to your membership grade, but relevant to where you are in your own career, namely:

focused communications and bespoke myCILEx content specific to your area of practice, stated ambitions and preferences;
access to more peers, role models and mentors through our member networks; and
up-to-date practice advice, guidance, and policy positions through our Specialist Reference Groups (SRGs), making you even more connected than ever before.

We are currently negotiating discounts with more companies and securing preferential rates for insurance services. Through our charity, we are establishing more support for those suffering financial hardship or struggling to fund their legal education. These additional membership benefits will be released throughout the remainder of 2020 and into early 2021, so make sure you regularly log in to your myCILEx account to see what is new and available.

Shaping our business for the future

Over the next few months, I will be working with my Executive team and the Board to consider how our operating model needs to evolve to ensure that:

we continue to run our operations as cost-effectively as possible;
we maximise the technology available to us through our CRM and other systems; and
we have a workforce which can deliver our new products and services, and provide an improved customer experience.

Through our key strategic projects, we will:

both enhance and grow the Chartered Institute:
establish CILEx lawyers as the legal professional of choice in the marketplace; and
build a strong brand that you can feel proud to be part of.

Over to you: have your say

Through our SRGs, member networks, online forums and, hopefully, soon some face-to-face events, I look forward to hearing from you all as to what else you want and need from us as your professional body and education provider.

To deliver our strategic aims, we need to understand more about your experiences in practice, how you are treated and what we can do to positively change this. So, don’t hold back from sharing your views with us.

Most of all, we want to celebrate your successes and achievements, and promote these accomplishments to inspire all current and future CILEx members to aim high and dream big! Share now via #whatcilexdidforme