Success stories

As she begins her term as CILEX President, Yanthé Richardson explains what drives her, her journey into law and her mission to engage with employers and aspiring CILEX lawyers and paralegals

Without CILEX, I would not have the life I have, and I'm sure many of you could say the same.

Access to legal careers, regardless of background, is incredibly important to me and I am humbled to become president at a time when the role that CILEX plays in opening up the profession is more crucial than ever.

Taking over the presidency at such a pivotal point in our long history is both an honour and a responsibility I do not take lightly. With parity and efficient, effective regulation top of the agenda, I am grateful to be entrusted with an official role during this important strategic period.

Representing the membership

The CILEX President is the most senior member representative on the board and the public face of the Institute in matters of the law and in promoting member access to legal careers, including in the judiciary. I will be demonstrating the value of membership to the profession and ensuring those considering a legal career know our route to qualification is available to all, whether they are school leavers, experienced paralegals, or graduates.

I now chair our Professional Board, made up of member representatives who promote the member interest and act as a bridge between our membership and the management and governance of CILEX.

The Professional Board workplan, which you may have read about in immediate past president Emma Davies' article in the Spring edition of CILEX Journal spans areas such as employer engagement, career development and policy development via our Specialist Reference Groups. If you are not a member of one of the groups yet, I would highly recommend joining.

An unexpected start in law

Lawyer did not appear on my list of future careers as a child, and it certainly wasn't on my mind when I left school at 17 in a very different situation to the one I had expected. Some serious issues at home meant staying in school and going to university as I had hoped were just not realistic for me. My teenage masterplan – politics and economics via a professional dance career if you are curious! – was not going to happen. I needed to get a job.

The role I found just happened to be as a trainee legal secretary in a local law firm. It was a largely legal aid practice, aside from the conveyancing department, which is where I began my legal career.

There were a number of CILEX trainees in the business and it seemed to me that I had stumbled on something which might lead me to a professional qualification after all, without having to go to university.

With the full support of my boss, I finished my CILEX exams five years later, having been exposed to every area of law that the firm practised in, starting in conveyancing before moving to family as well as covering some personal injury, wills and probate, and clerking at the Crown Court for the criminal department.

I qualified as a family law specialist initially, running a full legally aided caseload before relocating to London to work for niche family law practice. I was admitted as a Fellow in October 2010 and gained incredible experience in that role, including in advocacy in the Principal Registry and assisting on reported matters at the Royal Courts of Justice.

But family law had never really been my desired specialism, I had always loved the thrill of the getting a deal over the line. When a chance opportunity in a fast-paced new-build property team at Foot Anstey came up, I jumped at it. That was back in 2014 and since then I have progressed from Chartered Legal Executive to principal director, leading a large team of new-build specialists.

My mission 

No doubt my story reflects the journey so many of you have taken to qualify, to climb up the ranks and carve out successful careers for yourselves.

I have been the student trying to balance a caseload with my studies and the junior lawyer having to prove herself and perform better than my peers to rise through the ranks. I have been part of a business which has developed its approach to non-traditional routes to qualification and now offers equal opportunities, reward and recognition to CILEX lawyers. Now a senior leader, I am balancing my home life with my ambitions and sincerely hope sharing my journey, my experience and the skills I have developed in the last 21 years can help others at all stages of their careers.

“No doubt my story reflects the journey so many of you have taken to qualify, to climb up the ranks and carve out successful careers for yourselves” 

If I had to sum up my mission as your president in one word, it would be 'succession'. At CILEX, we continue to work to make justice better, make ourselves better, make work better and to build pride in CILEX. I believe we will be more successful in doing so by engaging with and listening to those early on in their careers, the next generation of CILEX lawyers and paralegals.

That means going out to schools and universities and crucially to employers.

For the next 12 months, I have a platform to do this, alongside immediate past president Emma Davies and my incredible new Vice-President, Sara Fowler. I want to show aspiring legal professionals what the CILEX route into law has to offer those of all backgrounds and work with employers to support their current and future CILEX members to progress in their careers as so many of you have done.

I also look forward to meeting many of you over the coming year. We have our exciting new annual conference on 7 November in Birmingham – a great opportunity to hear from a range of speakers on the issues affecting those working in the law as well as networking with CILEX members from across the country. I will also be at the National Paralegal Awards in September, celebrating talented paralegals and the businesses that support them, and our annual graduation ceremony in October when we recognise the achievements of members who have worked so hard to qualify.

Together with my Professional Board colleagues and our incredibly dedicated CILEX team, I am excited to see what we can achieve this year. I hope you are too.