Chartered Legal Executives can apply to obtain practice rights in one of the following reserved or regulated areas of activity:
Reserved Instrument (Conveyancing) activities
Probate activities
Litigation & Advocacy for civil, criminal, or family proceedings
Immigration and Asylum activities
Following approval from the Legal Services Board, we are launching a new training and assessment route as an alternative to the existing portfolio route. The new route will be offered by The University of Law and all Chartered Legal Executives with at least 5 years’ qualifying employment experience have the option to choose this route to obtain additional practice rights.
Expression of interest
If you would like to register your interest for either the new training and assessment route or the new assessment only route with The University of Law, please complete and submit the expression of interest form with the following information:
Your name;
Email address;
The area of practice you are seeking to obtain practice rights; and
Whether you will require training prior to the assessment or the assessment only option.
More information on the options available are set out in the diagram below:
Chartered Legal Executives with at least 5 years’ experience of working in legal practice of which at least 2 years’ experience should be in the area of law for which they are seeking rights, can make an application to CILEx Regulation for independent practice rights.
What is involved in the application?
CILEx Regulation will consider an applicant’s knowledge, experience and skills in the area of practice for which an applicant is seeking to obtain independent practice rights.
Knowledge
This sets out the minimum academic requirements to become a CILEx Practitioner. Applicants can demonstrate these by evidencing one of:
Successful completion of the relevant CILEX Level 6 units (or equivalent CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) modules, or
Holding an equivalent qualification, or
Five portfolios from their work to evidence understanding
There is detailed guidance in the practitioner handbooks to help provide applicants with enough information to enable CRL to assess their knowledge and application of the subject area.
Experience
Everyone applying for admission as a CILEX Practitioner has to complete three ‘case outlines’ (explanations of cases they have worked on) to demonstrate their experience in the subject.
Applicants must also outline their general experience of working in legal practice for at least five years and the nature of their experience in the two years preceding their application (which must be in the area of practice for which they are seeking authorisation).
Skills
The skills section of the application process further divides into two parts:
Client Care and Legal Research
Demonstrating competence in the specialist area of practice
Client Care and Legal Research
Applicants can provide evidence of these skills in the following ways:
CILEx Level 6 units in Client Care and Legal Research
Holding a qualifying law degree* and an LPC or BPTC
Holding an equivalent qualification that can be mapped to the skills outcomes
Completing log sheets and portfolio which demonstrate meeting the outcomes set out in the competence framework
*A qualifying law degree or QLD is one defined as such by the SRA/BSB
Competence in the specialist area of practice
To meet this requirement, applicants must complete either:
A course of study which satisfies the competencies, or
Provide a logbook and portfolio which demonstrates meeting the outcomes in the competence framework
What is involved for the assessment?
Once CILEx Regulation has received an application for independent practice rights, we will consider an applicant’s eligibility prior to sending the application to an external advisor for formal assessment.
The assessment process may identified areas where further submissions are required and applicants will be given an opportunity to consider and address these.
What do I need to pass the assessment overall?
Applicants must be found to be competent in relation to the knowledge, experience and skills elements of the application to be authorised with independent practice rights.
What are the costs?
£450 for the application fee + approximately £35 for a Standard DBS check.
which includes least 2 years’ in the specialist area of practice (accrued before or after becoming a chartered legal executive)
may apply for authorisation, by completing the assessment delivered by The University of Law.
There will be up to 4 assessment windows each year.
What is involved for the assessment?
The assessment is made up of two components:
a multiple-choice examination (MCQ) to assess knowledge, and
a Skills component to assess competence
The multiple-choice question component is a 90-minute assessment taken online in a closed-book environment. There are 45 questions.
The skills component has 2 elements both of which must be completed within 2 hours:
The first element is an oral interviewing skills element, conducted via a video conferencing tool.
The second element is a written submission, based on the first element, for example this may be a follow-up letter to the client confirming the points raised in the earlier interview, or it may be correspondence with a witness (factual or expert) or with the opponent building on the content of the oral element.
What do I need to pass the assessment overall?
The pass mark for the knowledge test is 50% and applicants need to receive a ‘competent’ assessed grade for skills component.
What are the costs?
The assessment only option with The University of Law costs £499.
In addition to the fees payable to The University of Law, applicants will be asked to complete a Standard DBS check by CILEx Regulation. CILEx Regulation use uCheck for all DBS applications and the fee for a Standard DBS check costs less than £35.
Chartered Legal Executives with at least 5 years’ qualifying employment but who have not completed 2 years’ experience in the practice area for which they are seeking additional practice rights will be required to undertake training with The University of Law prior to completing the assessment. The training is provided online on a full time (12 weeks) or part time basis (24 weeks).
What is involved for the training?
Each module will be delivered online (but not live) to allow chartered legal executives to learn in their own time.
Learners will receive tutor support and there will be a blend of learning activities. The training is divided into units. Each unit focuses on the performance of activities and practical tasks, supported by regular feedback. This will be supplemented by a programme of recorded lectures and occasional group sessions.
Once the training has been completed, applicants may register for the assessments (outlined below).
What is involved for the assessment?
The assessment is made up of two components:
a multiple-choice examination (MCQ) to assess knowledge, and
a Skills component to assess competence
The multiple-choice question component is a 90-minute assessment taken online in a closed-book environment. There are 45 questions.
The skills component has 2 elements both of which must be completed within 2 hours:
The first element is an oral interviewing skills element, conducted via a video conferencing tool.
The second element is a written submission, based on the first element, for example this may be a follow-up letter to the client confirming the points raised in the earlier interview, or it may be correspondence with a witness (factual or expert) or with the opponent building on the content of the oral element.
What do I need to pass the assessment overall?
The pass mark for the knowledge test is 50% and applicants need to receive a ‘competent’ assessed grade for skills component.
There will be up to 4 assessment windows each year.
Once the assessment has been successfully completed, applicants may apply for authorisation.
What are the costs?
The training and assessment option with The University of Law costs £1,999.
In addition to the fees payable to The University of Law, applicants will be asked to complete a Standard DBS check by CILEx Regulation. CILEx Regulation use uCheck for all DBS applications and the fee for a Standard DBS check costs less than £35.
