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Thank you for visiting our site. We aim to
provide social and profressional support to our members as
well as a range of services in the local area.
What is a branch?
Joining an active local branch of CILEx offers
numerous ways of finding additional support and making contacts
that can be of benefit to you for the rest of your career.
Local branches are groups of geographically
local members who, with the support of the membership department at
CILEx headquarters in Kempston, aim to provide support to its
members and to represent and raise the profile of CILEx in the
local area. They are managed by a committee of volunteers
comprising both Fellows and other members of CILEx, in some areas
with additional help from the CILEx regional liaison officers.
The benefits of being a member of a
local branch
Buddying up
Joining a local branch is an excellent way of
developing a closer relationship with CILEx itself. Local branches
give the benefit of the direct involvement of a CILEx Council
member, as well as providing the focus for opportunities to meet
and chat with the president, chief executive and other senior staff
and officers of CILEx.
Branches also provide the means to meet other
members of CILEx studying and working in the area. Many branches
have formal arrangements, such as 'study buddy' or study group
schemes. Study buddy schemes link students with a mentor who can
offer advice and support of a pastoral nature, while study groups
involve regular meetings of students of particular subjects to
discuss course work and help tackle problem areas.
Other initiatives include work shadowing
schemes. Here, students are given the opportunity to spend time in
the office of a working legal executive to see what the job really
involves in the 'real world'.
Contact building
Most branches arrange revision days, as well
as seminars on exam techniques, CV writing and interview skills to
help with job hunting. And as for jobs, being an active member of a
branch, which will necessarily include many working members,
provides an inside track to news of local vacancies and
opportunities.
Socialising
A key feature of branch activities is
organising social functions, arranging monthly lunch clubs and
informal evening meals, through more energetic pursuits such as
ten-pin bowling, skittles to formal black-tie dinners.
All of these provide an opportunity to get to
know local CILEx members as well as other lawyers and
professionals.
Further information
For more information please email
somersetilex@hotmail.com