CILEX is not a representative body like the Law Society and members cannot influence who they are regulated by, legal executives facing the prospect of being regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority have been told.

A special general meeting was convened last month to discuss resolutions submitted by CILEX members to the charter, byelaws and standing orders. A recording of the meeting was posted on CILEX's website last week.

One of the resolutions calls for members to vote electronically on whether transferring regulation of legal executives from CILEx Regulation to the SRA is in the public and member interest. A two-thirds majority would be required for the regulatory switch.

CILEX president Emma Davies said: ‘I hope as a result of this meeting, members will be clear as to why the resolutions proposed are not permitted, and also why members do not get to influence how and by whom they are regulated and governed.’

CILEX does not have a role or duty to represent the views or interests of members of the profession individually or collectively, Davies said. ‘As detailed at the January SGM, unlike the Law Society, CILEX is not a representative body. It is established under its charter as a body with a public interest duty and as an approved regulator and qualification-awarding body.’

Where CILEX carries out representative activities, such as lobbying government on judicial eligibility or granting higher rights, ‘it does so in the public interest, for example to improve access to justice or social mobility and diversity of the legal profession to ensure it better reflects society', Davies said.

Members were told that, following revised governance arrangements in 2018, they did not have control or decision-making authority of how CILEX operates.

One member asked: ‘Going on from what you said about CILEX not being a representative body, I’m puzzled by this because I’ve been a member of the institute [for] a very long time and before it received the royal charter, and it was a representative body prior to that. But if you are not a representative body and if you do not have the full support of all members of fellowship status, what exactly is your function now?’

CILEX chief executive Linda Ford replied that CILEX was an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act, the body that awards recognised qualifications that lead to authorisation and access to titles, and a ‘professional association that exists for the purposes of advancing standards in the profession.

 

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