Have you thought about becoming a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer?

There is an alternative to the traditional route of Law degree, followed by Legal Practice Course (LPC) and training contract in order to become a qualified solicitor.

It involves, instead, studying for the CILEx Graduate Fast-track Diploma (GFTD).  As a Law graduate you are eligible to apply for this course and you don't need to study any more Law subjects.

You do need to acquire the legal practice and professional skills elements of the GFTD, along with satisfying the qualifying employment requirements.  This is a 3 year period when you could be working as a paralegal in legal practice, in the legal department of a company or in local/national government. Because you can study by distance learning at times to suit you, ideally you will be working as a paralegal alongside studying.

What is the difference between a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer and a Solicitor?

The answer is, very little!  The main difference is that Chartered Legal Executive Lawyers only study one legal practice subject at an advanced level so they need to choose an area they wish to specialise in.  With the LPC, students study a range of compulsory subjects. However, in the end, all lawyers, no matter how they qualified, tend to specialise in just one legal practice area.

Chartered Legal Executives can become partners in Law firms and also apply to be appointed as judges.

One of the main advantages of studying the CILEx route is cost.  The total cost will be about £3,500 as opposed to around £12,000 for the LPC.

Want to know more?

Go to the CILEx and CILEx Law School websites.