Member Q&A - Michael Dew TEP

When and why did you get involved with STEP?

I got involved with STEP almost at the beginning. My membership certificate is dated March 1993. There was this idea that there ought to be an organisation representing professionals in England involved in trusts and estates, and some people were thinking of setting up branch in Surrey, where I was working at the time. It might or might not come to anything, but someone probably ought to go along and that person was me.

What were some of the highlights during your time as Chair of the Essay Route Panel?

The Essay Route Panel works to some tight deadlines. Questions have to be on the website, papers have to be marked and the results provided to candidates, and any appeals have to be resolved, all by the appropriate dates. It is a challenge. Having a complete set of questions that the Panel feels is sufficiently challenging and varied to give all candidates a reasonable choice is always a particular highlight of the year.

Some years ago, we introduced a procedure by which the results are tabulated on an anonymous basis so that we can assess consistency across the questions, across jurisdictions and between individual markers. Being able to monitor this and to see tangible improvements in some areas was definitely a highlight.

What trends have you noticed over time in terms of essay topics?

I think there are three. First, when I joined what was then the Qualified Practitioner Committee, questions were grouped into four categories: legal, accountancy, tax and international. Candidates submitted one essay from each of three of the four groups. This reflected the membership at the time – lawyers, accountants and tax practitioners – and the belief that TEPs should be able to demonstrate a broad knowledge across the spectrum. The membership is much more diverse now and so is the work they undertake. On the other hand, the work that individual members do tends to be more specialised. The questions now try to reflect these two changes.

The second trend is an increasing emphasis on regulation in question setting, and the third is that the Panel has had to adapt to the geographical spread of STEP, setting questions that are relevant to a wide range of jurisdictions and allowing for the fact that the answers may vary by jurisdiction.

In what other ways have you been involved with STEP?

I started as Secretary of the Bournemouth Branch and then represented the South of England on the STEP Council and England and Wales Committee. I have served on various committees and working groups. Currently, I serve on a working group on academic standards.

What challenges do you see facing the industry?

One is artificial intelligence (AI). In November 2023, the UK government published a report entitled The Impact of AI on UK Jobs and Training.[1] Professionals of all types come high on the list of occupations most exposed to AI generally, but in relation to exposure to large language modelling in particular, solicitors are the second-most exposed occupation and other legal professionals come sixth. The UK government does not have a category for trust and estate practitioners. This is all about exposure, though, not whether the impact will be positive or negative. That is up to us, I think.

What would you say to members considering getting more involved?

I would say go ahead. They will get so much more out of STEP by being involved. It is harder now than when I first got involved, though. They need to think carefully about what they are hoping to get out of it in terms of their own professional and personal development, what STEP can reasonably expect from them and what their employers are expecting. None of us have spare time any more. Time spent on STEP is time that cannot be spent on something else and they need to get their employers on board from the start. If those three competing interests can be balanced, then it will work to everyone’s advantage.