CILEX appoints new CEO as next President takes up the reins

15 July 2025

CILEX (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) has announced the appointments of leading NHS lawyer Sara Fowler as CILEX President, and former Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) CEO, Jennifer Coupland, as CEO.

Sara, who begins her term as 62nd CILEX president on 16 July, 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, specialising in clinical negligence.

Speaking on the eve of her inauguration, Sara Fowler promised to prioritise recognition for CILEX members as skilled, specialist legal professionals playing a significant role in the legal sector:

“CILEX has made huge strides in recent years, gaining recognition for its members’ skills and expertise, but the perception of many in the profession has not always kept pace with the reality. I want to build on the work of my predecessors, engaging with the judiciary, regulators, employers and policy makers, to ensure that all CILEX qualified professionals, be they CILEX judges, partners, Chartered Paralegals or newly qualified CILEX Lawyers, are rightly recognised.”

Sara, who grew up in and out of the care system and left school with no qualifications is 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. I am so proud to lead our institute at a time when the work we do – for equity, for modernisation, for recognition – is more important than ever.”

Jennifer, who joins as Chief Executive in September, was most recently Pro Vice-Chancellor, Skills, at London South Bank University. Prior to that she was CEO of IfATE for five years. At IfATE she was responsible for setting quality standards in apprenticeships and technical qualifications for careers across the economy. She has worked with employers and professional bodies to create over 700 apprenticeships, launched and grew the T level qualification programme and improved the quality of higher technical qualifications.

Before joining IfATE, she held roles as director of professional and technical education at the Department for Education, acting chief executive of the Standards and Testing Agency, and deputy director of the joint Department for Education/Department for Business Innovation & Skills Apprenticeships Unit.

Jennifer Coupland says: “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.”

“I am also looking forward to working with Sara as we share an ambition to put CILEX at the forefront of the legal profession. The world of law is changing fast and CILEX is committed to training lawyers and paralegals to keep ahead of the pack. As artificial intelligence democratises access to the law and fundamentally alters traditional approaches to legal training, this is an exciting moment for CILEX and as CEO I hope that my experience will help us be at the forefront of this change and the opportunities it brings.”

CILEX Chair Eileen Milner says: “I am pleased to welcome Sara and Jennifer to their new roles at an important time for CILEX, as we look to build on our proud history, support our members to thrive in their careers, drive change in the sector and grow our reach and impact.

“Sara will be a strong advocate for our membership, bringing lived experience that echoes the journey made by many of those who have qualified with CILEX, as well as a career that has seen her progress to a senior level within the NHS.

“Jennifer is an experienced and highly respected CEO, ideally placed to lead CILEX over the coming years. She has a deep knowledge of education, training, assessment, awarding and regulation. She has worked to create high-quality apprenticeships and technical qualifications, opening up opportunities in the professions, increasing social mobility, challenging restrictive practices and helping transform a range of sectors to become more reflective of the public they serve.”

Jennifer takes over from CEO Craig Hamer, while Sara takes the reins from Foot Anstey partner Yanthé Richardson.

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ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Louise Eckersley, Black Letter Communications on 0203 567 1208 or email at [email protected]

Kerry Jack, Black Letter Communications on 07525 756 599 or email at [email protected]

Notes to editors:

CILEX (The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) is one of the three main professional bodies covering the legal profession in England and Wales. The approximately 18,000 -strong membership is made up of CILEX Lawyers, Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals and other legal professionals.

CILEX pioneered the non-university route into law and recently launched the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), a new approach to on-the-job training that marries legal knowledge with the practical skills, behaviours and commercial awareness needed by lawyers in the 2020s.

The CPQ is a progressive qualification framework that creates a workforce of specialist legal professionals, providing a career ladder from Paralegal through to Advanced Paralegal and ultimately full qualification as a CILEX Lawyer. CILEX Lawyers can become partners in law firms, coroners, judges or advocates in open court.

CILEX members come from more diverse backgrounds than other parts of the legal profession:

76% of its lawyers are women
16% are from ethnic minority backgrounds
- 8% are Asian or Asian British
- 5% are Black or Black British
- 3% are from a mixed ethnic background
77% attended state schools
63% come from families where neither parent attended university
Only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.

CILEX members are regulated through an independent body, CILEx Regulation. It is the only regulator covering paralegals.