Bones: Six years at helm of CILEX
The former chair of CILEX – who has previously called for a radical shift in the way lawyers are regulated – is to take over as chair of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) in September.
Professor Chris Bones will succeed Kathryn Stone, who is becoming HM Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Authorities.
He said: “As the BSB prepares its strategy for the rest of the decade it is a good time to join and to understand the challenges and the opportunities for the profession.”
Professor Bones chaired CILEX for six years to the end of 2024, helping it to launch a refreshed qualification, open up more senior judicial roles to CILEX lawyers, and secure parity of funding between apprentices qualifying as solicitors and as CILEX lawyers.
He also pushed to change CILEX’s regulator from CILEx Regulation to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, work on which remains unresolved.
Professor Bones – who held senior HR roles earlier in his career – has recently taken over as chair of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development as well and is a professor emeritus at Alliance Manchester Business School.
Before CILEX, he was the first non-academic dean of Henley Business School and chaired the trustee board of the Terence Higgins Trust, among a range of other roles. Last year, he became a commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
He will take over at a delicate time for the BSB, which failed the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) most recent performance assessment and remains under close scrutiny by the oversight regulator as it tries to improve after years of problems.
In her farewell speech last month, Ms Stone said the structure of regulation established by the 2007 Act “does not work well”, specifying the “failing” relationship between the LSB and the frontline regulators like the BSB.
Giving evidence to the justice select committee in Parliament in late 2023, Ms Stone declined to express a view on whether there needed to be a review of the LSB, but in the same session, Professor Bones backed one, saying he shared some of the Bar Council’s concerns, “particularly around overreach”.
“Our view is that the Legal Services Board at the moment have a very broad view of their role and definition. I’m not sure they’re the best people to really take a view on climate change or judicial appointments,” he told MPs.
“I think they could and should have a much more focused view about the performance of the delegated regulatory bodies for which they are accountable.
Professor Bones also said the 2007 Act needed reviewing, arguing for regulation by activity rather than professional title.
It was not the first time he had said this. Back in 2020, he pointed out that “if you want your teeth seen to, you don’t visit a GP”.
BSB director general Mark Neale said: “Christopher is an experienced board director in global businesses across a range of different sectors. I very much look forward to working with him in the new role as chair in taking forward our reforms of the BSB and in setting a new strategic direction to ensure that the profession continues to serve the public interest.”
Meanwhile, Jennifer Coupland has been named the new chief executive of CILEX from September.
She was most recently pro vice-chancellor, skills, at London South Bank University and before that chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education for five years.
Ms Coupland said: “CILEX plays a critical role in the legal profession, widening access to justice, and opening careers in law to people from a wide range of backgrounds.
“Throughout my career in education, I have been committed to championing talent over tradition and carving out alternative routes to skilled jobs and professional careers. I look forward to leading CILEX as we continue to improve diversity in the profession and grow the reach and impact of the organisation and its members.”
Sara Fowler took over as CILEX’s 62nd president earlier this month. She is head of clinical services at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust and joint head of the Covid-19 inquiry team for her trust and Barts Health NHS Trust.
She previously worked at NHS Resolution and began her career at the law firm Hill Dickinson, where she qualified as a chartered legal executive through the firm’s graduate apprenticeship scheme.
Ms Fowler, who grew up in and out of the care system and left school with no qualifications, said she was committed to opening up the legal profession to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“At 18, I was a single mum living in a hostel with very little support but I knew I wanted more. I started from scratch at college, eventually gaining a law degree before beginning my career as a paralegal in a City firm.
“Studying with CILEX alongside full-time work allowed me to qualify as a lawyer and get where I am today. That is what CILEX represents: a profession that rewards resilience, opens doors and sees talent for what it is, not where it comes from.”
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