First legal executive sworn in as a Recorder
On 12 November, Nick Hanning became the first legal executive to be sworn in as a Recorder. Nick was admitted as a Fellow of what became the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) in 1990. In 2000, when rights of audience were extended to Legal Executives, he was in the first group to qualify as an Advocate in Civil Proceedings. In 2009, when partnership rights were opened to Legal Executives, Nick was recognised as the first Legal Executive partner in a Solicitors’ Practice.
In 2020, he was appointed a Deputy District Judge, First-tier Tribunal Judge and the first CILEx Employment Judge. Nick’s appointment as a Recorder breaks yet further new ground as the first ever appointment of a Legal Executive to the Circuit Bench level.
On his swearing in, which was presided over by the Lady Chief Justice, he said:
“When I began my legal career, the Legal Executive route was all that was available to me to progress in a structured way combining formal learning with on-the-job practical experience. My appointments to previous judicial roles, and now Recorder, are evidence of the excellent work that is being done to increase diversity by ensuring that appointment is not about background and qualifications but about demonstrating the required competencies however they have been acquired.”