Carr: ‘Imposter syndrome’ is my least favourite phrase
The Lady Chief Justice has told chartered legal executives that “if you’re good enough, you’re good enough” to become a judge and to ignore ‘imposter syndrome’.
Baroness Carr spoke last week at the launch of the CILEX Judicial Academy, an initiative she said would contribute to increasing the pool of eligible talent for judicial appointment.
The goal of the academy, which is also open to solicitors and barristers, is to provide those who plan to seek appointment in three to five years’ time a structured approach to gaining the experience and skills needed to apply.
The programme is structured around four key pillars which explore mindset, networking, personal development, and advocacy.
It includes one-on-one sessions with a career coach, access to a judge mentor, exposure to the range and requirements of different judicial positions, and opportunities to access exclusive networking events, while also supporting candidates to strengthen their leadership experience through pro-bono work and non-executive and trustee opportunities.
The 18-to-24-month programme feeds into existing Pre-Application Judicial Education Programme, which provides support once candidates are ready to make an application.
Working with the Judicial Office and Judicial Appointments Commission, CILEX said it wanted to create a pool of at least 500 applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, with the competencies and experience needed to make a successful application within the next five years.
Those from socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds or communities that are currently underrepresented within the judiciary will be given priority places.
Baroness Carr with members of the first cohort for the CILEX Judicial Academy
Describing CILEX as “vital to my agenda of diversity and inclusion for the future in the judiciary”, Baroness Carr told the launch, held at the Supreme Court: “Putting it very simply, if you’re good enough, you’re good enough. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you’ve done, what your experience is.”
CILEX has a very different demographic profile from solicitors and barristers: 77% of its lawyers are women, 16% are from ethnic minority backgrounds, 77% attended state schools, 66% come from families where neither parent attended university and only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.
CILEX lawyers have only been able to apply for a limited number of judicial posts since 2008 and just 18 have successfully done so. Baroness Carr said 131 applied in 2023/24, 2% of all applicants, of whom 11 were shortlisted and four recommended for appointment.
“So the need for this academy speaks for itself, I would suggest,” she said.
The government last year amended the law so that CILEX lawyers could apply to become recorders and Upper Tribunal judges – district judge was previously the highest level – and recent Nick Hanning became the first appointed a recorder.
Baroness Carr described ‘imposter syndrome’ as “my least favorite phrase in the English language”.
She went on: “I wish I could just delete it. Self-insight is so important. It can be such a useful tool. Use it as something positive to learn about yourself, how you can be better and improve, but don’t let it turn into something negative.
She outlined the work being done to create a “more certain and objective skills and abilities framework that will make it easier for solicitors, CILEX lawyers, indeed everybody, to meet the requirements that we are looking for in what makes a good judge”.
“All of the things that the JAC is looking for you’ve got on your plate: possessing and building knowledge, assimilating and clarifying information, working and communicating with others, managing work efficiently and exercising judgment.
“I suspect CILEX lawyers in this room are doing this day in, day out. So don’t doubt yourselves, you are doing what it takes. You just need to build up the evidence, prepare, and use the opportunities the academy will offer you to get wherever it is you want to get to.”
CILEX president Yanthe Richardson said: “CILEX lawyers consistently demonstrate they have the commitment to excellence in the legal profession but sadly we are all acutely aware that the opportunity to progress within the law is not equal…
“We know firsthand that those from a non-traditional background often suffer from a lack of confidence, battle imposter syndrome and do not have the opportunities to network and make connections needed to prepare for this role.
“We want to change that and we believe that this bespoke development programme will allow those who are often overlooked with the opportunity to demonstrate why they will be an asset to the profession and, crucially, begin the application process with confidence.”
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