Last year, CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) launched a new qualification – the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) – with the aim of producing uniquely qualified, specialist lawyers with the skills to meet the changing demands of the modern legal market.
March 2022 saw the first ever cohort of CPQ students receive their exam results, with 61% passing the assessments that form part of the first stage of the new qualification.
Those passing are on track to become specialist lawyers with not only the right legal knowledge but also the practical, commercial and interpersonal skills to make an impact from day one.
CILEX has been providing an accessible route into a rewarding legal career for over 50 years and CILEX-qualified professionals are working at every level of the legal profession with many progressing to become advocates, partners in law firms, business owners and judges.
The CPQ builds on CILEX’s core propositions of accessibility, affordability and flexibility, offering both graduates and those who did not attend university the opportunity to practise law at the highest level.
The three-stage progressive qualification recognises that a successful career in the law requires more than just legal knowledge. It introduces mandatory legal technology, business skills and emotional intelligence study for the first time in legal training.
It is designed for both graduates and non-graduates alike to study flexibly at their own pace. Students with a law degree or postgraduate legal qualifications do not have to start at the initial, Foundation stage. Instead, they are able to jump straight to the CPQ Advanced stage.
On completion of the third and final step, the CPQ Professional stage, students become CILEX lawyers. This is for those who want to be a specialist in their field and have the practice rights they need to work alongside solicitors, barristers and other legal professionals.
CILEX trainees can specialise earlier than those studying for the SQE, focusing in more depth on those areas of law that are relevant to them and their employer as well building professional competence. Furthermore, qualifying though CILEX is more closely linked to day-to-day work. What students are studying is applied to work experience from day one, vastly improving their career and employability prospects.
CILEX has long been committed to improving social mobility within the legal profession so, as well as providing a more accessible route into the law, CILEX runs a scholarship programme through the CILEX Foundation.
Targeted at those under-represented in the legal profession and/or from a socially disadvantaged background, students can access scholarships worth up to £12,500 each. This covers the training costs of becoming a fully qualified CILEX Lawyer, as well as all the benefits CILEX membership brings. Eligible groups include young carers, those with a protected characteristic, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, previous receipt of free school meals or a history of being in care.
Those looking for a career in the law now have more options open to them than ever before. The choices aspiring lawyers and paralegals make about their future will come down to what suits them, their experience, circumstances and their future aspirations.
The CPQ offers a flexible approach to study that provides a fast track to becoming a specialist lawyer. For those who want to work alongside their studies and gain the additional skills needed by the legal services employers of tomorrow then CPQ is a perfect choice.
You can visit CILEX at https://www.cilex.org.uk/
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