CILEX appoints incoming chair and five new board members

CILEX has announced the appointment of Eileen Milner as its new chair, taking up the position in January 2025.

Ms Milner is chair of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and the Children and Families Trust for Bradford and District. She was previously chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, responsible for skills, apprenticeships and technical education as well as the regulation of colleges, independent training providers, academies and free schools.

Prior to that, she was chief operating officer at the Care Quality Commission and has also worked at senior level in the commercial sector in both the technology industry and public service advisory work.

She will take over as CILEX Chair from Professor Chris Bones who will be stepping down after six years. His term has seen CILEX make huge strides in removing barriers and securing equality of opportunity for its members.

This included the launch of the CILEX Professional Qualification in 2022; amendments to the Judicial Appointments Order 2008 that last year opened up more senior judicial roles to CILEX Lawyers; the passing of the Powers of Attorney Act, containing changes permitting CILEX Lawyers to certify copies of powers of attorney; and securing parity of funding between apprentices qualifying as solicitors and those qualifying as CILEX Lawyers, for the first time.

Ms Milner said that taking on the role of CILEX Chair was “both an honour and a responsibility I take very seriously”. She continued, “It is an opportunity to build on the significant progress CILEX has made under the chairmanship of Professor Chris Bones, which has been founded on seeking to ensure that the public benefit mission of the organisation is fulfilled through further strengthening the role and status of CILEX lawyers in our legal landscape.”

Referring to her role at the Education and Skills Funding Agency, she went on: “I know through my own career that we best serve society and our economy when we recognise that talent exists everywhere and at all ages, but historically opportunity has not always followed.

“At CILEX, we have a proud history of opening up a range of routes into the legal profession through prioritising accessibility and flexibility, whilst never compromising on having the highest professional standards and expectations. We are ambitious to do more and I am confident that collectively we are well equipped to do so.”

She plans to devote a good proportion of her time in the coming months to getting to know the organisation and the key stakeholders that sit around CILEX, saying: “I have lots to learn but also, I hope, lots to bring.”

The CILEX board has also appointed five new non-executive directors. Candice Thorpe joins as chair of the audit & risk committee. She is a qualified solicitor with almost 20 years’ experience in a range of specialisms within the public and regulatory sector and is currently a lawyer at the Financial Conduct Authority.

Lucy Winskell, who joins as chair of the regulatory compliance board, was pro vice-chancellor (employability and partnerships) at Northumbria University for 12 years until 2022, when she stood down from that role on her appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear. A solicitor by training, she remains a visiting professor at Northumbria and continues her non-executive roles whilst serving as Lord Lieutenant.

Maura Sullivan, a chartered accountant with over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, ranging from large international banks to UK FTSE 250 organisations, is the new chair of the finance committee, while Steve Chantry, currently responsible for growth functions (marketing, research and development and commercial) for emerging markets for Kraft Heinz, is chair of the sales and marketing advisory board.

Tim McIntyre Bhatty is new chair of CILEX’s education board. He has a longstanding record in senior university and board positions, alongside his experience in academic and educational leadership, including 12 years as a deputy vice-chancellor.