CILEX president Yanthé Richardson discusses her varied career, diversity in the law and the introduction of chartered paralegals
“I left school at 17, needed to get a job and just happened to get a job as a secretary at a local law firm,” says Yanthé Richardson, CILEX president and partner at national law firm Foot Anstey. While working at this firm, Richardson, still under 18, was entitled to a free year of higher education towards a professional qualification with ILEX — now CILEX, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
Having passed this first year, Richardson’s employer agreed to sponsor her to complete the ILEX course, allowing her to become a legal executive. Although she originally qualified into family law, Richardson re-specialised in property, an area she had always been interested in, in 2014. It was then that she joined national outfit Foot Anstey as a chartered legal executive.
Ten years later, Richardson has just joined the firm’s equity partnership and has nearly completed her term as CILEX president. “I worked my way up through the career framework from the lowest level into the equity partnership,” she tells me.
I ask Richardson what motivated her to become involved with CILEX and ultimately serve a presidential year. “I’m incredibly passionate about improving economic and social diversity in the legal profession,” is her response. “I come from an underprivileged background myself. I grew up in a household on and off benefits, had free school meals and didn’t go to university.” She emphasises the transformational role that her own CILEX qualification has played in her career. “Without ILEX, now CILEX, I would certainly not be living the life I lead now. I want to give back and encourage others to see what is possible through a vocational qualification.”
As well as being motivated by her personal experience, Richardson sees a more diverse legal profession as a public good. “The legal profession should look like the general public and understand what the public need,” she says. Mentioning judicial diversity as a particular interest, Richardson emphasises the importance of judges being representative of the country as a whole. “This is an area where we can really make a difference,” she says. “CILEX is part of the judicial diversity forum, and as president I sit on that.”
A significant milestone of Richardson’s time as president has been the introduction of ‘chartered paralegals’, the first formal recognition of the role. I am curious to know why CILEX were keen to create this new status. “The paralegal sector has grown a lot over the last few years,” Richardson tells me. “There are now around 250,000 paralegals working in our jurisdiction.” As the number of paralegals has increased in recent years, the role has evolved. “An increasing number see working as a paralegal as their career, they don’t necessarily want to go on to become a lawyer,” Richardson explains. She goes on to say that, while a majority of paralegals still do intend to become lawyers, “there are lots of reasons why that might not happen or they might change their minds and there has been no recognition for them at the paralegal stage.”
Richardson sees the introduction of CILEX chartered paralegal status as a way for the profession to distinguish among this increasingly broad group of legal professionals. “The title ‘paralegal’ could apply to someone fresh out of university and in their very first job, meanwhile it could also be someone with years of experience,” she explains, “We’ve got very experienced paralegals in the CILEX community that run their own departments, maybe even their own businesses. We felt that, despite the growth of that sector, there had been no formal way to differentiate between paralegals with experience and those who are just starting out.”
Chartered paralegal status is available to those who have been working in legal roles for at least five years and can demonstrate extensive legal knowledge and competence across a number of key duties and behaviours. CILEX sees chartered paralegal status as something that will benefit employers and clients as well as paralegals themselves.
For experienced paralegals, “It provides them with a formal status that recognises their achievements,” Richardson tells me. “Not all of our members want to become fully qualified lawyers but still want some form of recognition,” she continues. The new status has been designed with input from employers and, against the expanding number of paralegals in the UK, will help them to “discern the difference between new paralegals and those who have more experience.”
The status is also in the public interest. “Bringing those with chartered paralegal status under the regulatory umbrella is very important. Especially those who are running their own departments or businesses — it’s very important that clients have a route to redress if they need it.” To this end, Richardson tells me how the qualification is supported by a public facing register — “the public can see who holds this status and who doesn’t to promote public confidence in the delivery of legal services.”
So, what would be Richardson’s advice to those considering pursuing CILEX chartered paralegal status? “Don’t be intimidated by the requirements,” she replies. “We’re all about providing opportunities without barriers. We want it to be a respected and stringent process but it’s important that people don’t shy away from it” Her concluding advice is simply, “Please have a go!”
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