CILEX receiving ‘strong support’ for proposed regulation switch
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Rebecca Morgan, Editor
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- 4 minutes read
CILEX have moved one step closer to a position where it gives the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) power to oversee legal executives.
This is after they have announced that the proposal has received “strong support” from the profession – including employers and consumers. The proposal has been deemed a controversial one since it announced its plans last autumn.
CILEx consulted on plans to transfer their regulation to the SRA back in August 2023, despite a significant amount of members stating that they did not wish to move to be under SRA regulation. Not only did members provide this feedback in a CILEx Regulation consultation but also on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Last week CILEX stated that more than 1,200 people responded to the consultation and just shy of 2,500 members of the public participated in a poll conducted by IPSOS Mori.
One of the consultation respondents was the Law Society of England and Wales, who back in November last year provided a number of reasons why they oppose this proposal, and listed areas of concern.
However, CILEX have since said that all of the questions in relation to the regulatory switch achieved “at least a 60% positive response”.
They have also published various consultation outcome documents on their website. Specifically, you can read the summary of the consultation questionnaire outcomes here.
One of the questions asked was:
“Do you agree the use of the Chartered Lawyer titles will assist legal professionals, employers and the public to better understand the status and specialist nature of CILEX lawyers?”
Of which, 69% of those who answered agreed. It is important to note though, that there were only 581 responses.
The current Chief Executive of CILEX, Linda Ford stated:
“We are encouraged by the engagement we have had from our members, employer organisations and from across the legal profession, as well as the consumer research we have undertaken. These insights have been extremely useful in ensuring that any changes we make will be in the public interest, improving consumer trust and confidence and supporting the important role CILEX professionals have in the delivery of legal services.
These are important reforms that have the potential to drive positive change for both the consumers and providers of legal services. CILEX is now working towards providing additional assurances, clarity and detail, with a view to finalising our proposals in the near future.”
There are various additional assurances and clarifications being sought from the SRA, which CILEx have said include:
- assurance regarding the cost of regulation
- the principle of no cross-subsidy in light of the Axiom Ince case
The SRA has conducted their own consultation and will be considering their responses at a board meeting on 23rd January. Next steps will be announced when the SRA considers responses to its own consultation at a board meeting on 23 January. We will provide an update as soon as we hear anything on or after the 23rd from the SRA.
Today’s Family Lawyer is keen to hear from you about your thoughts on this, leave a comment below.
Do you think CILEx professionals should be regulated by the SRA? Will this confuse members of the public regarding legal training and qualification status?
