Two new members appointed to the CLC’s governing Council

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), the regulator of property and probate lawyers, has today announced the appointment of two new members to the CLC’s governing council.

Jenny Quirke takes up the post of Chair of the CLC’s Audit and Risk Committee and joins the CLC Council in August, following the end of incumbent Heather Foster’s term. Milton James is appointed to the Council, effective from July, as a lay member to fill a current vacancy.

The Council has a lay, non-lawyer majority, working alongside professional conveyancing and probate lawyer members.

Both of the appointments are for an initial term of up to four years, potentially renewable for a further four years.

Chair of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, Dame Janet Paraskeva said:

“Heather Foster has given 10 years’ service to the CLC, joining as an Independent Member of our Audit and Risk Committee in 2010, before becoming a member of the Council and Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee in 2014.

“Heather has made a vital contribution to the CLC’s governance, ensuring that the CLC’s principal risks and control processes have been reviewed, developed and adapted in response to changing circumstances. She has guided the development and delivery of internal audits with the result that for three years in a row the CLC has received the top rating possible for its framework of risk management, governance and internal control from our internal auditors, supplementing the unqualified opinion from our external auditors. I do wish to express my gratitude to Heather for guiding us to this point.

“While I am very sorry to see Heather leave the Council, I am very excited that we are being joined by individuals who will bring new and diverse experience to our work.

“We are now mid-way through our five-year strategy and as we review progress on that and look to the future I look forward to the fresh insight and new approaches Jenny and Milton will bring to the work of the CLC.

“Earlier this year we published our discussion paper Conveyancing 2030 which looks forward to a far more digitised delivery of services. The recent months have accelerated those changes as conveyancers and probate practitioners have sought to deliver their services remotely. Milton brings great expertise and knowledge which will ensure our thinking remains at the leading edge as we seek to balance supporting innovation with protecting the consumer interest.

“Throughout the coronavirus pandemic we have sought to protect consumers, while using our regulatory abilities to ensure that the business we regulate have the support and guidance they need to operate. As we now look to move our industry forwards Jenny’s strong risk and compliance experience and regulatory knowledge from of other sectors will be a great bolster to our approach.”

Jenny is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and qualified in 2001 whilst working for Zurich Insurance. She has held senior finance and risk roles with financial services organisations, including Santander and Nationwide.

Jenny is Chair of the Audit Committee for The Vernon Building Society and also holds a Non-Executive Director position on a voluntary basis for British Showjumping. She also has a role on the Disciplinary Committee for CIMA and has a small consultancy business.

Milton has extensive experience within private, public and not for profit organisations in Utilities, Insurance, Investment Banking, Financial and Information Services coupled with a Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA). Specialising in information management, operational management and digital technology, he has held senior positions at Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Reuters, Nominet and comparethemarket.com.

Most recently he held the position of Information Management and Technology Director at Ofgem the UK energy regulator creating and delivering their digital strategy. Milton previously held a Non-Executive Director position at Notting Hill Housing Group, one of the largest housing associations in London and the south-east.

Kindly shared by The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)