Chair’s Board update July 2022

Our third full Board meeting of the year took place online on 13 July. We had a lot to discuss, and here are a few highlights:

• Future of Regulatory Arrangements: we discussed the future regulatory arrangements for CILEX practitioners and entities in the light of the recent statement by CILEX. We agreed that we should continue with our plans for improvements, and to consult on options for change in the coming weeks. We believe we can both reduce costs for practitioners and enhance support for individuals and firms. We also agreed to repeat our offer to CILEX to do this in an open and collaborative way, rather than the secretive and unnecessarily confrontational approach they have adopted to date.
• Practising Fee Certificate: we had a good discussion on the PCF for 2023 and agreed the consultation document we will publish next week. We agreed to freeze the PCF at this year’s rate notwithstanding the inflationary pressures of 10% we are all facing
• Firm Regulation: we confirmed our objective of making it easier for Fellows and others to set up their own law firm, especially as Sole Traders, and considered new research we had commissioned on “Law Firm in a Box” so that we provide the right package of support and regulation at an affordable price. We were encouraged that ¾ of those responding supported the concept, and we will now work up firm proposals. We also discussed consultation on changes to the Consumer Compensation arrangements and agreed we should seek to roll over the existing arrangements for a further year as our plans develop.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: we considered progress we had made since publishing our first ever EDI Strategy earlier this year and agreed our priorities for the coming year.
• Qualifying Employment Review: we agreed a draft consultation document to revise the definition of qualifying employment to make the rules simpler and more straightforward. We believe the changes will help those working part-time who are predominantly women and look forward to hearing your views.
• Education: we had a full discussion on CILEX’s Annual Education Report which is the basis for our accrediting CILEX’s professional qualifications. This raised some concerns for us which we will now follow up with CILEX.

Access the full board papers for the 13 July meeting

Our next planned Board catch-up is on 6 September with our next full meeting on 28 September.