CILEX Professional Board Members

Yanthé Richardson – CILEX President

Yanthé began her career in law in 2003 and qualified as a Fellow of CILEX in 2010. Having practised family and residential property law in Lincolnshire, London, and the southwest, Yanthé is now a senior leader across Foot Anstey’s Conveyancing Services team with a particular specialism in all new build matters. Her role involves overseeing the management and supervision of teams, with responsibilities including strategic growth, risk management and technical oversight. Yanthé leads on projects developing the operational direction of her team, utilising her 20+ years of legal experience to deliver with a commercial, innovative approach.

Yanthé was a Specialist Reference Group Advisor to CILEX (from February 2019 to September 2021) and during that tenure became CILEX’s representative on the Home Buying and Selling Council. She continues to advise Government on the Land Registry’s Advisory Council and Digital Property Market Steering Group and more recently has been appointed as the Conveyancer representative on the New Homes Quality Board’s Code Review Council. She is known as an expert in her field and is a regular public speaker.

Having started out in law somewhat accidentally, Yanthé attributes her career in part to the opportunities offered to her by the alternative route to qualification CILEX provides. She is passionate about ensuring others have the same opportunities regardless of their background, and strongly believes that we must continue to drive the standards expected of our legal professionals no matter which route to qualification they have taken.

Sara Fowler – CILEX Vice President

Sara is a senior leader in the NHS and a qualified fellow of Cilex, with over a decade of experience in healthcare law. She has a reputation for being resilient, driven, and tenacious in improving performance and efficiency within her portfolios. Sara trained as a fellow at Hill Dickinson LLP in London, specialising in clinical negligence litigation before moving to the NHS to contribute to improving patient safety from learning from legal claims.

She now heads up the Covid-19 Public Inquiry team across Barts Health NHS Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), in addition to heading up Legal Services at BHRUT. Her area of expertise is clinical negligence litigation with a secondary interest in inquests and advisory work, as well as strategic change management and performance improvement.

Prior to this, Sara was in a senior leadership role at NHS Resolution, an arm’s length government body, pro-actively investigating high value, emotive and complex brain injuries in maternity on a national level with a focus on learning. Coming from a disadvantaged background herself, Sara is passionate about equal access to justice, social mobility and ensuring that the legal profession is accessible for all, regardless of background.

She mentors care leavers and those who have suffered homelessness pursuing a legal career and is a strong advocate for continuous lifelong learning.

Emma Davies – CILEX Immediate Past President

Originally qualifying with a degree in Tourism Management, and trying various roles, Emma found a home within law and was admitted as a Fellow of CILEX in 2010.

Passionate about this diverse route to qualification she was one of the founding members of the CILEX Devon Branch. She served on the committee for 10 years in various roles, including Chair, watching the branch scoop awards for ‘Most innovative branch’ and ‘Best branch’. Her involvement with the branch has provided a great opportunity to fly the flag for the CILEX route to qualification through events, attending careers fairs and networking with both CILEX members and other parts of the legal profession. She re-joined the branch committee in 2022.

Emma started out in private practise as a Legal Secretary/Trainee Legal Executive specialising in debt recovery and Claimant personal injury. Since 2011 she has worked in-house for the Royal College of Nursing representing nurses subject to fitness to practise proceedings before their regulator. She also represents nurses under investigation by the Disclosure & Barring Service and Social Care Wales.

Emma has served on both the old-style Council and now on the professional board. In her role as Vice President she will be focusing on membership engagement and is looking forward to meeting as many CILEX members as possible.

Matthew Huggett – Past President

Matt is an experienced employment lawyer and also a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Industrial Law Society and a former Secretary of the West of England branch of the CIPD.

Matt started his legal career a little later in life, commencing his CILEX qualifications in his early thirties. At this point in his career, he had already started advising on HR and employment law matters but realised, in the increasingly litigious area of employment, that he needed (and wanted) to become a lawyer. Matt discovered the CILEX route to qualification which allowed him to continue to work in his established employment with a large employers organisation – and to raise a young family at the same time.

During his career, Matt became a lead lawyer for global manufacturing and engineering businesses. He now runs his own employment practice with Carbon Law Partners.

He advises on all matters relating to HR and employment with a particular interest in discrimination and diversity matters. Matt is also an experienced advocate, representing clients at Employment Tribunals.

He is also an avid user of LinkedIn as a platform to access and educate the wider population on employment matters having published a series of videos and podcasts on specialist topics.

Ian Hunt – Non-Executives

Ian is immensely proud to be a third generation Legal Executive, having qualified in October 1990 and becoming a Fellow on 31st October 1992. He left mainstream legal employment in 2012 to fulfil his ambition to set up my own specialist Private Client practice and in June 2012. East Devon Law was founded. The firm has grown to become an LLP in 2018 and a CILEX Regulated entity in September 2020. 

Ian won the Private Client – Legal Expert Award in 2018, and the Devon and Somerset Law Society Legal Executive of the Year Award in 2019. He received the highly commended in the Joyce Arram Memorial Award in the CILEX National Awards 2019 as well as being a shortlisted finalist in two other categories. 

As well as being a Full member of STEP and SFE and the Equity Release Council, Ian was invited by Baroness Finlay to become a member of the National Mental Capacity Forum (NMCF) in 2017 and was invited to become a member of the OPG working group to look at creating new easy read guidance notes for LPA’s in July 2019.

Out of the office he enjoys walking, hiking, and is qualified S W Mountain and Moorland leader and NNAS navigation coach. Ian is also a keen Motorsports enthusiast and enjoys competing in Sprints and Hill climbs in his Historic Mini Cooper S with daughter Victoria and wife Adele.

Rob Morris – Non-Executives

Robert is the Head of Operations – Transformation and Reconfiguration at Bond Turner. His primary focus lies in supporting directors with transformation programs and fostering relationships and protocols with leading insurers.

Robert Morris brings over 35 years of legal expertise to Bond Turner, having qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive in June 1998. He has extensive experience in management roles across various litigation specialisms including Debt, Housing, RTA, Credit Hire, and Costs.

Robert is known for his resilience, approachability, open mindset, and attention to detail. He finds fulfilment in tackling challenges and guiding business improvement in efficiency and effectiveness.

Additionally, Robert sits on the CILEX Board as a CILEX Professional Board as a Non-Executive Director.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, as well as engaging in outdoor activities.

Jodie Davis – Non-Executives

Jodie began her career in 1999 at Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, where she continues to work today. Starting as an office junior, she progressed steadily, eventually managing her own caseload of personal injury cases. She qualified as a CILEX Fellow in 2007 and transitioned to the Cost Management Team in 2012, seeking a new challenge after returning from maternity leave.

In the cost team, Jodie initially worked as a Law Costs Draftsman before being promoted to Deputy Team Leader, Team Leader and ultimately to her current role as Senior Associate and Head of Costs Delivery. In this position, she co-manages a team of 136 colleagues, with 74 aligned to her division. She oversees the delivery of income for the business, driving operational efficiency, performance and growth.

Jodie is responsible for managing relationships with senior stakeholders across various business areas and directly influencing the strategy for her team and the broader business. She is also a skilled advocate and has built strong relationships with the judiciary throughout her career. Jodie is an active member of four court forums and user groups, including one she created and leads.

Jodie regularly delivers online and in-person training sessions for her team, other business areas and external seminars on costs-related issues. She has developed a comprehensive training programme for apprentices and trainee solicitors within the business, providing them with a strong foundation in costs as they embark on their legal careers.

Having achieved her own legal qualification through CILEX while working, Jodie is a passionate advocate for alternative routes into the legal profession.

Delaina Benjamin LLB Pg.Dip FCILEX – Non-Executives

Over the past 11 years Delaina has worked across the Private, Public and Charity sector In-house. Currently serving as a Senior Civil Litigation Lawyer, her focus and attention is on the Social Housing sector. In her spare time, she enjoys being a Photographer and creative entrepreneur.

Specialising in International and European Law from 2008, Delaina completed a 4-year LLB degree at the University of Sheffield in 2012, achieved a Student Graduate Award and studied abroad in Germany & the Netherlands. Born in the East Midlands, after University she decided to stay and build her life in Sheffield.

Post graduation, she completed the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) at Nottingham Trent University and was called to the Bar in November 2013. Delaina is proud to be a Member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Keen for advocacy opportunities, she dived straight into legal practice at Irwin Mitchell LLP, Sheffield, as a Costs Advocacy Paralegal. She then continued to build her career, working at Thompsons Solicitors, Remedi (charity) and Local Authorities, volunteering at Legal Advice centres, engaging in Community Justice Panels and promoting Erasmus programmes.

Delaina commenced her CILEX journey in January 2019, progressed from Graduate to Fellow and attained practice certification (Fellow) in January 2023 and became a CILEX Lawyer in May 2023 with Civil Litigation & Advocacy Practice Rights. As a member of the CILEX Professional Board, she is responsible for the Policy Development Portfolio & Qualifications portfolio.

Kim Findlow – Non-Executives

Kim is a Senior Associate (CILEX) at Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and had always dreamed of being a CILEX Lawyer, after hearing about how rewarding the career path and how flexible the route was, at a school career fair.

Kim first qualified as and worked a legal secretary in various commercial firms in Cornwall and Devon as a way to obtain legal experience whilst completing her CILEX qualifications including specialisms in Tort, Employment, Civil Litigation and European Law.

Kim qualified as a Fellow in 2014 and practises Employment and Discrimination law in Manchester. Kim regularly deals with thorny discrimination issues and has extensive experience in advising on complex and sensitive sexual harassment / misconduct cases. Kim regularly advises on dealing with employee welfare/mental health management. Kim is also a lead in relation to GDPR related issues and atypical working and has a particular interest in apprenticeships. Her role includes advising on tricky issues within the education sector team as well as advising on matters of education regulation.

Kim regularly trains clients and other colleagues in all areas of employment law and is extremely active in corporate social responsibility projects and pro bono work. Kim is also a member of Employment Lawyers Association and was a Governor of a maintained primary school for 6 years (including a stint as Vice Chair).

Kim now has 20 years of experience of working in many varied areas of law at all different levels and is passionate about access to law for all and diversity within the sector.

Tom Morgan – Non-Executives

Tom is a commercial lawyer with a focus on contracts and the research and innovation sector. He spent over a decade in-house where he qualified as a CILEX Fellow and became Head of Research Contracts and Research Compliance at the University of Bristol. More recently he has made the jump into private practice at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP where he is currently a Senior Associate, having dual qualified as a solicitor along the way.

Tom’s research law practice covers advising on intellectual property rights, research contracts (e.g. collaboration agreements, grant agreements, studentships), clinical trials, and research security issues (Trusted Research, National Security & Investment Act, Export Control). Beyond research, he also handles matters across broader commercial law working in the tech, life sciences, and space sectors.

Tom has an interest in innovation in delivery of legal services and designed and led a transformation project which was shortlisted for an Innovation and Excellence Award in Strategic Achievement by World Commerce & Contracting.

CILEX provided Tom with a route to qualification while working and raising a young family that wouldn’t have been possible, and he actively champions the CILEX route and CILEX lawyers. In addition to sitting on the Professional Board, Tom has been a trustee of the CILEX Foundation since 2021.