Presidential Inaugration

David McGrady, ILEX President 2010/11

July 8th 2010 saw David McGrady installed as the 47th President of ILEXThe new President of ILEX firmly set out his stall before an influential audience at his inauguration dinner in London.

David McGrady told guests at the HAC, home to the Honorable Artillery Company, who included the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and the Attorney-General, Dominic Grieve QC, that it would be unwise to interpret the Institute's civility in its dealings 'as a sign of weakness', telling stakeholders that he looked forward to them talking to ILEX, not 'at us'.

He said he was also 'determined to fill the knowledge gap that persists in some quarters of politics, the civil service and even the judiciary' about who ILEX and legal executives are, and revealed that ILEX hopes to present a petition for a Royal Charter in the next year.

Mr McGrady also warned that the current high cost of university and post-graduate education would mean that without ILEX, there is a danger 'that the profession will fall back to its position prior to the Second World War, as a career for only the social and financial elite'.

What follows is an edited version of his speech:

'I hope that in 10 months' time, at the next ILEX annual lunch, to be able to recount further progress made advancing our qualification as a respected academic route into the legal profession, the regulation of our members through our regulatory body, ILEX Professional Services, and an increase in the number of our members made partners in law firms. And by then I sincerely hope the first ILEX members will have been appointed to the judiciary.

It is of course an honour to be appointed President of ILEX and I must thank those who have assisted me in securing office.

The first category of people who must be thanked are my colleagues on Council for the faith that they have shown in electing me their president and upon whom I will reply for support in the next 12 months. Also worthy of special mention are the Vice President Susan Silver and Deputy Vice-President Nick Hanning and also Larry Shaw and Keith Barrett, fellow Council members for London and without whose encouragement I would never even have stood for Council some six or seven years ago.

I must of course thank my employers, Ed Middlehurst and the other partners at Gregsons and my colleagues, upon whom I rely to look after my practice when committed to presidential duties. It is to Ed and his partners' credit that they have never stopped me taking up my duties on Council and now as ILEX President. It is regrettable that some larger firms are not so enlightened and instead passively or actively prevent their employees from participating in the wider profession, including the taking of judicial office. Such insular attitudes do not in the long term help their employees, the profession or indeed the firm.

The final group of people I must thank is certainly not the least and that is my wife Jill, daughter Sarah and son Jon, who share this occasion with me tonight.

I would like to focus on what can realistically be achieved and upon who I will need to call upon for help or can perhaps assist in the next 12 months.

I look forward to working with the government, its civil servants and the judiciary, upon all matters but particularly pro bono, legal aid, and the impact of cuts upon the judicial system. You will find ILEX accepts change but not for change's sake or political whim or temporary popularity. Our structures allow us to respond quickly to new developments, something which has given us an edge over the past 40-odd years, securing our initial establishment and thereafter our increase in size, respect and influence.

We are an organisation that has come of age and with that acquired a sense of its own self worth. We are comfortable and confident of our role within the profession and where we stand alongside the Bar and the Law Society in serving the public.

I am, however, determined to fill the knowledge gap that persists in some quarters of politics, the civil service and even the judiciary. I wish to be the last President who has to patiently explain to the unenlightened that ILEX is an organisation of over 20,000 legal practitioners, some 7,500 of whom are lawyers, some not only partners in firms but also eligible for judicial appointment.

To our friends in the Law Society, Bar Council, licensed conveyancers and other professional bodies, I look forward to maintaining with you the high standards of the profession and providing a high quality of service for the public. To do this ILEX must extend members' practice rights, something we will be actively pursuing in the next 12 months.

The profession is big enough for us all. Without ILEX there is no unfettered entry into the profession. Without ILEX, there is a danger, with the current high cost of university and post-graduate education, that the profession will fall back to its position prior to the Second World War, as a career for only the social and financial elite.

I look forward to working with those charged with regulating and improving standards within the profession and introducing alternative business structures and the challenge that they bring. ILEX is always civil in its dealings with those it comes into contact with. It would be unwise, however, to interpret that civility as a sign of weakness. I look forward to talking to and talking with the various agencies such as the Legal Services Board and Legal Ombudsman. I trust, however, that they will talk to us and talk with us, but not talk at us.

Many of our members have worked in the legal profession for 40 years or more. Many have spent their careers frustrated at recognised deficiencies within the profession but unable, at least until recently, to influence significant changes in it. They welcome the new-found influence that ILEX has and which we will exercise responsibly on their behalf. We hope to bring sensible changes to a profession that we value. Changes that are progressive and significant but not driven by fads or short-term populist gains.

I bring to the table of those charged with the diversity of the profession and the judiciary our 20,000-plus members from differing socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds and who are eager for change and to see change.

Of course, I will be reliant upon the assistance and counsel of Diane Burleigh and her excellent staff. It has undoubtedly been a fact in ILEX punching above its weight in the past 10 years or so that we have had Diane and her hard-working professional staff to call upon. I am particularly pleased to announce that during the next 12 months ILEX's petition for a Royal Charter will be presented to Her Majesty the Queen and I, together with Diane and the staff and our fellow Council members, hope that we can steer this potentially historic change through the procedural waters.

So there you have it. As promised, a speech with no grand aspirational statements but which I hope demonstrates a conviction to work with all to secure improvements for our members and to work with our fellow professionals to enhance the quality of service that is received by the consumer to the benefit of all. The speech of a man who has practiced in the law for over 35 years and has known no other employment. The speech hopefully of a man who understands and values the profession that has influenced most of his life and the need for continued progress and change but of a sustainable nature. And perhaps the speech of a man who has, late in his career, has been afforded a brief opportunity to make a difference.'

Posted 09.07.10