How many years does it take to become a chartered legal executive?

Jul 13, 2022

Written By Helena Kudiabor

If you’re interested in a career as a chartered legal executive, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, you’ll learn all about the day to day responsibilities of one, and what you need to do to qualify.

What is a chartered legal executive?

A chartered legal executive is someone who specialises in a particular area of law, such as criminal litigation or family law. They are qualified lawyers, meaning they can carry out reserved legal work alongside solicitors.

Responsibilities differ depending on which area of law you’re qualified in, but typical responsibilities include: interviewing and advising witnesses, explaining complex legal situations to your clients and researching legal information for documents.

What is the difference between a chartered legal executive and a solicitor?

Although it is true that chartered legal executives and solicitors have similar responsibilities, there are a couple of differences between them. Solicitors have more flexibility when it comes to what practice area they can specialise in, in contrast to chartered legal executives who have to specialise early on.

Chartered legal executives also can find it more difficult to switch between practice areas, as their understanding of the law isn’t as broad.

There are also differences between the training that solicitors and chartered legal executives receive. Chartered legal executives combine studying with on the job training, which is useful for those who learn better with practical experience. They also receive less training than solicitors, which means they end up with less student debt, although solicitors do earn higher salaries.

What is the process of qualifying as a chartered legal executive?

The process is organised by CILEX. To become a chartered legal executive (also known as a CILEX fellow), you will need to complete the academic stage of training, be in qualifying employment for three years and meet the work-based learning requirements.

The academic stage of training must only be completed if you haven’t taken the LLB/GDL and the LPC/BPTC. Training involves the ten units of the CILEX Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice, and six units of the CILEX Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice. This can be achieved within two years of full-time study, or four years of part-time.

The employment requirements require you to complete a year of qualifying employment as a graduate of CILEX (after completing the academic qualifications) as well as two years immediately before you apply for fellowship. Qualifying employment is any sort of legal work, completed for a minimum of 20 hours weekly and supervised by an authorised person.

Finally, to be admitted as a CILEX fellow, you’ll need to prove that you can meet eight competencies, which have been broken down into 27 learning outcomes. Examples of these outcomes include: demonstrating awareness of ethical issues and managing workload.

When you total two years for each qualification, as well as a year of qualifying employment after graduating, it’s estimated that becoming a chartered legal executive should take you around five years.

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