CILEx Regulation and chartered legal executives
CILEx Regulation is the regulator for chartered legal executives and others who provide specialist legal services to consumers in the public interest. We are an experienced team who really understand the uniqueness of the profession we regulate, and as such we offer tailored regulation based on legal specialism.
As a result of the alternative and cost-effective pathways into practice offered by CILEx, the profession we regulate is hugely diverse (for example, 77% of our regulated community is female and only 6.4% went to private school), helping to attract and develop talent that may not otherwise access more traditional routes.
We value the diversity that our regulated community brings to the legal profession, supporting and encouraging them to develop and progress in their careers, and enabling them to create a more inclusive legal workforce, for the benefit of both the profession and consumers of legal services.
Reforming our standards for entry to the profession
As a forward-looking regulator, we are always thinking about ways to ensure that equal opportunities for career progression remain available to chartered legal executives. To this end, we have recently reformed the way they enter the profession, so that they will be able to deliver specialist legal services independently at the point of qualification. This brings more opportunities for chartered legal executives to progress, for example, by starting their own specialist law firm.
Our new standards also ensure that chartered legal executives will bring different skills to the delivery of legal services, including a greater understanding of the benefits and risks of legal technology, as well as ensuring those we regulate are emotionally competent.
New route for existing chartered legal executives
For our existing qualified chartered legal executives, we have developed a new assessment route that will allow them to gain these additional rights too. Working in partnership with the University of Law, we have successfully piloted a new route that is both quick and robust in enabling our experienced lawyers to gain the additional authorisation available. The new assessment route is due to be available from Summer 2022.
During the pilot, we were particularly proud of the University of Law’s assessment of the candidates:
‘This is very high-level performance overall and certainly comparable – albeit on a broad basis – with the performance and aptitudes of the highest-achieving LPC students’
Demonstrating to others what we already know; that chartered legal executives can and do make a unique and valuable contribution to the delivery of legal services, and to the same high standards.
What next for CILEx Regulation?
We continue to work hard on behalf of our regulated community to ensure that they can progress their careers as far as their aspirations and talent will take them.
Initially, we want to create further opportunities for progression by seeking Higher Rights of Audience for chartered legal executives who specialise in litigation and advocacy. We believe this step will ensure that chartered legal executives can extend the services they offer to the public, as well as making them eligible for all judicial appointments in the future.
We are also ambitious and are aiming for rapid growth in the numbers of chartered legal executives with independent practice rights in their specialist area, followed by the expansion of chartered legal executive firms authorised to deliver reserved and regulated activities. Over time, we believe this will help to provide much more choice to consumers of legal services, delivered by lawyers who better reflect the communities they serve and better law for everyone.
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