CILEx President

Introducing Craig Tickner:
​your new CILEx President

Just before his inauguration as the 57th CILEx President, Craig Tickner FCILEx wrote about the plans for his year in office.

About the author: Craig Tickner is President of CILEx.

Avery big ‘Hello’ from me to all of our members: whether you are about to embark upon a career in law or currently studying towards obtaining our qualification, or are already qualified and putting your expert legal training to fantastic use.

Wherever you are on your personal journey within this well-respected profession - from our students through to established practitioners, partners, and judges - it is vital that we all buy into the concept that we are all part of one CILEx family. That way, we will be able to continue to strive to achieve great things, and I will talk more about this later in the article.

We live in unprecedented times

Of course, it is impossible for me not to mention the very unusual circumstances in which I am introducing myself to you (although, I have already had the great pleasure of meeting some of you at various events). Notwithstanding the changes in the social distancing guidelines at the beginning of July, many of us are still some way from what was once considered to be normal practice.

I am in exactly the same position in which many of you find yourselves: grappling with technology to try and carry out the day-to-day requirements of my work. I had no idea quite how many different types of video conferencing existed. Naturally, many of the courts in which I practise, use completely different platforms!

For those of you who have been furloughed, I wish you a safe return to work as soon as possible.

These are unprecedented times, but one thing is absolutely certain: the law is not something that society can be without. The market will not suddenly disappear. And, as we are slowly reintroduced back to standard practices, I am conÿdent that the services we offer will, once again, be in great demand.

Ordinarily, I would be writing that I very much look forward to meeting as many of you as possible across England and Wales during the next 12 months. I sincerely hope to be able to do this, even if I have to end up squeezing a year’s worth of visits into whatever time the easing of the lockdown and social distancing rules permit.

However, I also have to be realistic, and if I end up being the first (and, hopefully, the last) ‘virtual CILEx President’, then so be it! Rest assured, however, that much work will continue to be done - by me and my colleagues - for the good of CILEx whether or not we are working remotely.

So, what is there to expect within the next 12 months?

Well, many of you would have read the article from the immediate Past President Matthew Foster in the Spring edition of the Journal. He spoke about the role of the President being part of a ‘distant relay and not a sprint’, and of a ‘passing of the baton’ from President to President.

This is a very different approach from how things used to work, and has come about as a result of a complete governance restructure within CILEx, in recognition that ‘Rome could never be built in a day’ such was the enormity of the changes we were seeking to achieve.

The governing body known as CILEx Council, of which the President was the senior non-executive director of the organisation, was replaced with an overarching Group Board and its chair, Professor Chris Bones, is the most senior non-executive director.

Sitting underneath the Group Board is the Professional Board, made up entirely of members just like you, with the President as chair. 

As a result of this restructure, the role of President has gradually evolved into that of a Brand Ambassador, with Phillip Sherwood and then Matthew Foster developing the Presidential role to focus on leading the profession rather than having to grapple with organisational operations. It is a role that partners closely with the Group Board chair to maximise the impact CILEx has on behalf of you, its members.

It follows that we only have your interests in mind as we continue to press for further recognition, with additional rights and powers, and also to deliver a much more bespoke suite of benefits for each member as they continue along their own personal CILEx journey.

It is vital, however, if we are to function with maximum effect, that we continue to have your most valuable input. We cannot seek to change that of which we are unaware.

We need your help

You can help us in a number of ways, depending upon what the issue might be.

CILEx contact centre In addition to the myCILEx self-service portal, we have a fantastic and very enthusiastic Customer Service team, which are able to assist with critical membership enquiries.

myCILEx You can also interact via your very own myCILEx webpage: it is unique to you. This is always developing to deliver a more tailor-made experience for members, and I would strongly recommend that you take a look if, like me, you have not been much of a regular visitor in the past.

I was really impressed at just how it has evolved to become member-focused. I am also conÿdent that the membership team at Head Office would also welcome any suggestions on what you would like to see when you log in.

Specialist Reference Groups For any issues that might arise in your day-to-day life as a practitioner, I cannot emphasise enough that you please get in touch with the appropriate Specialist Reference Group (SRG) (see also page 16 of this issue).

If you haven’t done so already, all you need do is sign up to any of them that may be relevant or of interest to you. It costs nothing, takes only a matter of minutes, and gives you immediate access to other like-minded members.

The SRGs are overseen by Specialist Advisers whom, in the first instance, are likely to give you the correct advice or answer you are seeking. If, however, the issue is one that needs further scrutiny or, perhaps, even some form of government lobbying, for example, then it will be raised by the Specialist Adviser directly to the Professional Board as a point of action.

CILEx Professional Board I have already stated that we on the Professional Board are - like you - CILEx members. We do not have an extensive knowledge of all practice areas, and so if there is ever an issue that impacts upon your professional life, no matter how trivial you might consider it to be, then we need you to bring it to the table. I can assure you that it will never be ignored nor brushed under the carpet.

Incredible change ahead

Three members of the Professional Board (the President, Vice-President, and immediate past President) also sit on the overarching Group Board that I previously mentioned. Let there be no doubt that Chris Bones, together with the other Group Board members, understand fully that CILEx is a membership organisation and everything they set out to achieve - utilising their collective and extensive experience and expertise - is solely for the betterment and growth of our profession.

The relationship between the Professional Board and the Group Board is already producing incredible change. We are looking ahead to the new CILEx Professional Qualification (CPQ), where courses will start to be taught from September 2021. This new qualification will offer courses that follow practice area pathways alongside common skills such as client care, legal research, and advocacy skills (where required) in order to deliver fully qualified CILEx lawyers with complete practice rights upon completion of the course. Details of the new qualification framework, including transitional arrangements for all current students, will be published in October. Please register your interest using this form if you would like to receive updates as they are published.

CPQ is more than simply rounding up what we already have and delivering the CILEx legal qualification in neater and more compact package. The market research of legal employers, conducted by Head Office, has helped shape the new qualification. We will be delivering exactly what the future market is looking for in terms of expert lawyers, who are equipped with all of the necessary skills to make them the lawyer of choice.

We are also making very real progress with the Legal Services Board and the Ministry of Justice to try and resolve longstanding anomalies that have frustrated members for many a year: from matters as diverse as members being able to certify copies of power of attorney or the ability of CILEx Advocates to become Crown Prosecutors to the rather false ceiling in terms of the judicial rank that our members can hope to achieve.

Of course, many of these issues have largely arisen through historical but piecemeal successes in obtaining increased practice rights over a long period of time. But such anomalies, no matter how small or simple they appear to be, require legislative change. This is much more complex a process than it is to say, and we have been hampered somewhat by the lengthy Brexit affair, and now Covid-19, which have both taken up a great deal of parliamentary time. However, meetings with various government departments have begun, as Matthew Foster highlighted in his article, and the reception has been very positive indeed.

The government has itself been promoting social mobility and diversity, having understood the huge amount of benefit there is to be gained in doing so. The undeniable fact that our CILEx membership is already made up of people from many different backgrounds means that we are effectively ‘oven ready’ in the provision of the types of expert lawyers the government wishes to see in future. This will be a cause for celebration of course, but the champagne bottles will remain in the fridge whilst we go through the rather laborious task of knitting all of these loose ends together so that our members are no longer disadvantaged. Nevertheless, I am sure that the fact that action is - at long last - being taken will come as very positive and welcome news.

And so, I return to the beginning of this article

Whether you are about to embark on a legal career or are already studying with us, are part of a practice or running your own, or you are even a judge, you can see that CILEx really is taking great strides forward with - and on behalf of - all of you. And what stands out for me is that the process for change is now so much more demonstrable. There is a clear chain of action to ensure that all issues which affect, or might affect, members are scrutinised and acted upon.

I am particularly grateful to Matthew Foster for the tremendous effort and dedication he has given as CILEx President during the previous 12 months. Not only have I been able to draw momentum from his immense enthusiasm and dry wit, he has become a very good friend too. It is a pleasure for me to be able to take the baton from him and continue to ensure all of these exciting changes remain on point.

I am also very much looking forward to being supported by my Vice-President, Caroline Jepson, and the rest of our colleagues on the Professional Board as well my colleagues on the Group Board and, of course, the Executive Team led by CEO Linda Ford.

I sincerely hope to meet as many of you as possible and to rub shoulders (or bump elbows!) with several future Professional Board members and CILEx Presidents. Remember, we are all one CILEx family.

MEET CRAIG TICKNER

​Craig joined the Crown Prosecution Service, in 1990, after leaving college. He decided to study an A-level in law, which led him to the CILEx route.

He completed the first two years of the CILEx qualification before being invited to join a local criminal defence firm. Craig spent the first 12 months at the firm qualifying as a Police Station Accredited Representative before being able to complete the CILEx qualification.

After becoming a CILEx Fellow in 2005, he undertook the advocacy (criminal) course immediately after these practice rights became obtainable and was admitted as a Chartered Legal Advocate in 2010.

Craig appears regularly at the local magistrates’ court and youth court, covering all aspects of criminal litigation, including numerous trials, and works closely with counsel in serious Crown Court cases. Craig became a partner at Bristol law firm, Aidan Woods & Co in April 2014.

He joined CILEx Council in July 2016. He was a member of the CILEx governance and membership standing committees during the governance restructure. Craig also chaired the CILEx Bristol Branch for three years.

Away from the law, his interests are gardening, music, sport (please let him know if there is an option for a round of golf!) and travel.


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