The Presidents Lunch

Every year the ILEX President has the privilege of hosting a lunch for invited guests from the legal and educational professions. At this lunch the President has the opportunity to speak to the guests about his year in office and about matters of interest to Legal Executives.

You may like to read my speech to the 120 guests.

Lord Chief Justice, honoured guests.

Thank you for joining us at the annual ILEX President’s Lunch.

It is appropriate that we are here today in the Royal Commonwealth Club. ILEX is a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and only a few weeks ago I spoke at their conference in Hong Kong.

Lord Judge, can I say how much I appreciated and enjoyed your address at the closing plenary session.

The trip also marked the latest stage in the expansion of our international horizons. With centres now across the Caribbean, in Malta and Cyprus, I signed an agreement between ILEX and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, to offer a joint Diploma in Legal Executive studies. I am delighted that ILEX Tutorial College will play a key role in this venture.

This is just one of many achievements in the past 12 months. 12 months that I believe have been the most remarkable since ILEX’s formation in 1963.

• We have our first legal executive partners.
• The right for Legal Executives lawyers to apply for judicial appointment has become a reality.
•  The first new-style ILEX advocates have earned their stripes.
•  We have brought Associate Prosecutors at the CPS under our supervision.
•  We have opened branches in Surrey and Norfolk, with more in the pipeline.
• And we have modernised our governance.

As this is the President’s lunch, I can say that this is all thanks to me. In truth, much is due to my dedicated fellow Council members. And the exceptional work of the staff at Kempston Manor, led with such clear vision by Diane.

But most of all it is thanks to the professionalism and commitment of ILEX Fellows, Members and students up and down the country, and increasingly around the world.

They have shown that Legal Executives are lawyers who have earned the respect and status they now enjoy.

I have seen this myself in the rapidly growing number of legal executives who can now call themselves partners. From the smallest high street firms to 100-partner-plus City practices, they are receiving recognition for the contribution they make to their firms’ success.

I have seen this as legal executives exercise their new advocacy rights with skill and confidence. I will see this when the first legal executive judge or tribunal chairman is appointed. The day when a legal executive advocate appears before a legal executive judge will be a special one indeed.

We are pleased to offer the only path for those without degrees to become fully-fledged lawyers. We have told the government’s Panel on Fair Access to the Professions that it need look no further than legal executives for social mobility and diversity already in action. 75% of our members are women. 13% are from black and minority ethnic groups.

Through our partnership with City & Guilds, the UK’s largest awarding body, we supply qualifications to legal secretaries, paralegals and other law workers, giving them their first taste of legal qualifications and a route to going on and qualifying as a legal executive lawyer.

From September, our Graduate “Fast Track” Diploma will aid those with a law degree who want to become a legal executive lawyer. A revised membership structure will encourage progression towards qualification too.

Legal executives are people who aspire to better themselves. ILEX is supporting their ambitions by making sure their voice is heard by the public, by government, by the media and by other stakeholders. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our solicitor and barrister colleagues in defending the independence and integrity of the law and the legal profession, both here and abroad.

Last year I was fortunate to be part of a human rights mission to Columbia. What I witnessed there has made me acutely aware of how vital it is that we as a legal profession stand united against any threats to the rule of law and access to real justice. The injustice directed there against lawyers seeking to uphold the rule of law and the right to justice for all I personally found unacceptable.

We are proud to be one of the sponsors of the Access to Justice Foundation and of our commitment to pro bono work. Through the work of the ILEX Pro Bono Forum, ILEX and our members are contributing to the public good in a way that only we lawyers can. Later in the proceedings we will celebrate the pro bono work of one of our members through our Annual Pro bono Award.

But although we have a great deal to celebrate, it is not all rosy. For example, the recession has bitten hard on our conveyancing members in particular. The impact of the recession on our members makes it doubly important that ILEX continues to develop its objectives so that when we come out of the recession our members will be ready for the new challenges and opportunities that may come their way.

Our recent membership survey uncovered an unacceptable proportion of legal executives reporting barriers to progressing their careers, whether age, family status, gender, and issues around education. The starkest barrier is the attitude of colleagues in the profession.

But attitudes will have to change as the legal profession modernises, and ILEX will be at the forefront of explaining why. And I know the Law Society and Bar Council will support our efforts. If nothing else, it is simply a matter of good business to make the best of the assets you have. We are all in this together.

But I prefer to be upbeat about the present and the future. This year witnessed the creation of our independent regulatory arm, ILEX Professional Standards, a landmark in the history of ILEX. The name is significant. The survey revealed how much our members value regulation as a mechanism for demonstrating professionalism.

Our smart, informative new website acts as an invaluable resource for members and would-be members alike. And – this is truly exciting – The Legal Executive Journal was recognised earlier this year by being named Best Professional Association Magazine.

Change is coming as the Legal Services Act reforms begin to take shape. These reforms recognise the role of legal executives and ILEX as integral to the legal market, and we take our responsibilities very seriously.

We are two to three years away from alternative business structures. Maybe ten years from a legal profession that is very different to the one we all know now. Nobody can say for certain what will happen, but there is one thing I am sure of.

ILEX and legal executive lawyers face that future with enthusiasm and confidence and with excitement about the new opportunities that will undoubtedly come our way.

Thank you for your time.