Chair of CILEX, Chris Bones talks about the role of CILEX lawyers, their place in the legal profession and the need for a legal profession which is representative of varied life experiences and diversity of thought.
The legal sector has dragged its feet on equality, diversity and inclusion compared to its peers in industry and the public sector. The current position we find ourselves in, as described in research from the major professional bodies, the judicial diversity forum and some regulators, is in my view a result of a collective failure of leaders in the sector to understand the importance of culture and their role in creating cultures that value and empower people from non-traditional backgrounds.
Uniquely of the legal professions, CILEX has for the last 60 years offered a ‘earn while you learn’ route to a legal career, and since 2014 the ability to become a qualified lawyer, for those without the traditional educational background historically associated with the law.
This is reflected in the make-up of our 20,000-strong membership, which is dramatically different from that of solicitors and barristers: 76% of our lawyers are women, 16% identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic, 84% attended state schools, 31% are the first generation in their family to attend university, and only 3% have a parent who is a lawyer. Many of our members are a testament to the talent that the law would otherwise have missed out on: including many of our graduates whose university background is not that of the ‘top universities’ still favoured by many legal employers.
CILEX members have for a long time toiled behind the scenes in the engine rooms of many high street law firms in particular, but the structural reforms enabled by Legal Services Act 2007 have brought them more to the fore. According to our regulator, around a thousand are now partners in law firms, others have senior roles in local authorities and corporate legal teams and more recently we have started to see the appointment of CILEX qualified judges.
The data above might lead one to argue that this is a sign that the sector has created a culture where merit, as opposed to title, is the sole determinant of success. Unfortunately, the reality is far from it. Our research has identified the determination of CILEX members to succeed, which they often do against the odds – by combining study, work and their lives beyond the law, would-be CILEX Lawyers have to work harder than those around them to achieve professional standing and status.
Last year, for the first time, we surveyed our members about their day-to-day experience of working in the law and the results painted a dismal picture of discrimination, unfair treatment and being undermined by fellow professionals and particularly by their employers. Many employers still discriminate by title, paying for professional qualification and membership for solicitors and barristers, but not for CILEX members for example.
This is an awful indictment of the culture of many law firms, local authorities and private companies and, in particular, of the attitudes displayed by some lawyers which are both disrespectful and discriminatory to those they do not believe to be their equals. It is a story of how many of our members work in a hostile environment, not one that nurtures, develops and rewards equally for work of equal value.
This has informed our strategy for the coming years. Central is making justice better for all in society – often the communities our members come from and serve as clients fare less well in the justice system and this must change. We believe an effective justice system comes from having a more diverse profession at every level and the rejection of the social, educational and professional snobbery.
We are committed to addressing the inequities and prejudices that hold CILEX lawyers back, ranging from outdated law – for example, decades old legislation that means CILEX lawyers cannot certify a copy of a power of attorney – to unnecessary bars, such as on holding higher judicial office.
Another key goal is helping to create a work environment that is qualification-route blind and appoints, promotes and rewards on merit. One where, regardless of title, there is opportunity to have employer-funded training and CPD and where study leave and time to participate in professional life is made available.
According to the LSB, its Reshaping Legal Services strategy will have succeeded if, by 2031, legal professionals at all levels are as diverse as the communities they serve, and there is “a genuinely inclusive culture where the diversity of thought that people with varied life experiences and circumstances bring is championed”.
We could not agree more – the diversity that CILEX injects into the profession is vital. But our members know how much work needs to be done to come close to achieving this. We will strain every sinew to bring about the culture change needed but recognise that we cannot achieve this alone.
The LSB, however and indeed any regulator cannot make that change. This accountability lies with the leaders of law firms and in-house legal teams. These people are members of the professions: ours, solicitors and barristers. As professions we can work with them to help them understand the importance of culture and show them what they can do that makes a difference. There are great examples out there and we should celebrate these as well as challenge the poorer performers.
Cultures are based on shared values. A value is something you believe so strongly in it shapes your behaviour. Today we have many employers whose values are on the walls of their offices and in their annual reports and on their websites, but that’s where they stay. They now need to be seen every day in their daily interactions and decisions. This is arguably the greatest challenge of all to the legal profession because, if we can get our culture right, then much of the rest of the strategy will follow.
You can visit CILEX at https://www.cilex.org.uk/
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