Legal seminar success in Telford

The event was organised by the Shropshire and Mid Wales Branch of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and was open to anyone training for a future in the legal profession.

It was held at the offices of Martin-Kaye Solicitors, in Euston Way, Telford, and around 45 delegates attended.

Branch vice-chairman Sophie Davies, who works for Martin-Kaye, said: “We were extremely pleased with the turnout and we had a good mix of delegates – from students just starting out, to part-qualified and many fully-qualified chartered legal executives.

“Our aim was to give them an insight into how becoming a member of CILEx could help develop their career and to explain that the training programme was a really viable alternative to a university degree.”

Guests on the day heard from guest speakers Nick Hanning (president of CILEx) and Hugh Anton-Stephens – a public notary and a mental health tribunal judge.

Presentations were also given by Lynne Squires who explained the CILEx training route, and Kelly Davies of Fodens Solicitors who shared her experiences of the CILEx scheme and how she became one of the first legal executives to be made a partner in a law firm.

Delegates were given advice on CVs and interview techniques too, and enjoyed a buffet thanks to sponsors Adrian Mason, from Advance CPD in Shrewsbury.

Senior partner at Martin-Kaye, Graham Davies, said: “The conference was a great success and the atmosphere was buzzing with ideas and enthusiasm.

“At Martin-Kaye we’re always keen to encourage our staff to continue to develop their skills and the CILEx training programme has proved extremely popular with many of our legal executives.

“We’re very happy to support the local branch of CILEx and to see so many professionals taking such an interest in their approach to training.”

The conference was a free Continuing Professional Development event and feedback from the delegates showed it was a huge success.