CILEx Regulation was advised by the Legal Services Board (LSB) on 16 June 2021 that the application to introduce its new education standards has been approved.
The new standards create an integrated set of education requirements and a single application process, to allow applicants to become authorised as Chartered Legal Executives with the right to practise independently in their specialist area, without duplicating application and assessment requirements. Qualifying employment requirements are now aligned at three years. On qualification, a Chartered Legal Executive will be authorised as a Commissioner for Oaths and a practice right if they specialise in one of the reserved or regulated activities. More information on the new standards can be found here.
We have also taken the opportunity to modernise the standards and to take into account changes to working practices, by including legal technology and emotional competence, to ensure Chartered Legal Executives are prepared for the future demands of the legal sector.
Sam Younger said: “I am delighted that our education standards have been approved by the Legal Services Board. The core proposition has been and remains that the ‘CILEX route’ is a means to bring into the legal profession more practitioners with non-traditional backgrounds, by providing opportunities for people who do not necessarily possess traditional higher education qualifications and who – even more importantly – cannot afford the costs of qualification as a solicitor or barrister. CILEX provides a route that does not require a university degree and which is founded on learning while you earn. It is no coincidence therefore that Chartered Legal Executives are 70 percent female and overwhelmingly from non-traditional backgrounds. We believe that these education standards will guarantee fully qualified specialist practitioners who have demonstrated their legal experience and competence, whilst continuing to attract into the profession people from non-traditional backgrounds, enhancing the diversity and strength of the legal profession, promoting competition in the provision of legal services and improving access to justice.”
If you are thinking of becoming a Chartered Legal Executive, click here to find out more.
If you are a training provider who would like to have your qualification approved to meet the education standards, click here for more information.
Notes to editors
- CILEx Regulation regulates Chartered Legal Executive lawyers, other members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and law firms.
- The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives is the professional association which represents 20,000 Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals and legal professionals.
- CILEx Regulation oversees the education, qualification and practice standards of the legal professionals it regulates and works with the Chartered Institute to ensure that qualifications are at the right level and appropriate to the work that regulated members do.
- CILEx Regulation aims to ensure that regulated members are fully aware of their obligations to consumers, colleagues, the courts and the public, and that they maintain proper standards of professional conduct.
- When necessary, CILEx Regulation deals with complaints against regulated individuals and firms.
- Diversity data 2019
