Legal executive (England and Wales)
Legal executives are qualified lawyers, specialising in particular areas of law, with at least five years' experience working under the supervision of a solicitor. This can be either in a legal practice or in the legal department of a private company, or local or national government.
They have their own client files and, as fee-earners in private practice, their work is charged directly to the client. This is an important difference between legal executives and other legal support staff.
The most common specialism areas are:
Only Fellows of The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) are permitted to call themselves legal executives. There are currently around 22,000 trainee and practising members of ILEX. 7,500 of whom are Fellows and so fully qualified lawyers.
There are opportunities throughout England and Wales but not Scotland or Northern Ireland, where the role of legal executive does not exist.
Duties vary considerably according to specialism and managerial responsibilities. However, typical work activities are likely to involve:
Salary data and statistics from The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) , 2011.
Although this area of work is open to all graduates and diplomates, a degree/HND in the following subjects may increase your chances:
The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) recommends that applicants for the ILEX course have at least four GCSEs at grade C or above. However, a qualifying law degree or CPE (Common Professional Examination) or GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) is particularly useful as it grants some academic exemptions from the ILEX examinations. Some qualifications give full academic exemption from both the academic and practice papers. See the ILEX website for further details.
Chances of entry in the workplace are greatly enhanced by pre-entry work experience.
Candidates need to show evidence of the following:
Competition is fierce. Bear in mind that you will be competing against experienced non-graduate candidates as well as graduates.
Apply speculatively to solicitors or in response to local press advertisements. Also, consider expanding your search to local and national government departments. Try to gain experience as a legal assistant, paralegal or legal secretary.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
To become a graduate member of The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) , candidates must pass the ILEX membership examinations at Levels 3 and 6:
To become a Fellow and recognised as a fully qualified legal executive, candidates must also then work in qualifying legal employment for five years, two years of which must be completed in the graduate membership grade and worked consecutively.
If you are studying on a part-time basis while in legal employment, it usually takes three to four years to complete the ILEX examinations. Graduates in subjects other than law would need to take this route.
ILEX also now offers a Graduate Fast Track Diploma for those with a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) or GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) gained within the seven years before they apply. This diploma offers a route to become a Graduate Member of ILEX and completion of the ILEX academic requirements to become a qualified lawyer. Candidates just need to study two ILEX Level 6 Practice units (one of which must relate to the subjects you studied within your law degree) and the ILEX Level 6 Client Care Skills unit to complete their academic studies. This is a very cost-effective route to becoming a lawyer, as it costs around £1,900 to complete (ILEX, November 2011), which is significantly less than the cost of alternative postgraduate routes.
In addition to the ILEX qualifications, legal executives, like solicitors, undertake continuing professional development (CPD), which is provided by their employers, either in house or through providers such as the College of Law . Fellows of ILEX are required to undertake 16 hours of professional development per year in both specialised and non-specialised areas of their profession.
Legal executives develop high-level specialist legal knowledge throughout the minimum five-year qualifying period required to achieve The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) . With increasing experience and expertise, they may progress to more complex cases and build a comprehensive client base.
Opportunities exist for legal executives to run their own departments, supervising other legal executives, administrative staff and junior solicitors. In smaller practices, opportunities to become practice managers may arise.
Qualified legal executives may also become solicitors. The ILEX training route may be used for entry to the final stages of the solicitors' qualification scheme - the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and the Professional Skills Course (PSC). An advantage is that ILEX Fellows are exempt from the two-year training contract, which may be difficult to obtain. For further information about the route to becoming a solicitor, contact The Law Society of England and Wales .
With extended rights of audience in civil, criminal and family proceedings, those Fellows who train and qualify as legal executive advocates can represent their clients in the County Court, Family Proceedings Court, Magistrates' Court including the Youth Court, Coroners Court and in most Tribunals, depending on the area of law in which they practise, allowing them to manage a case from start to finish.
It is possible to pursue further ambitions through ILEX, such as becoming a partner in a firm. Legal executives can also apply for a range of judicial appointments up to and including District Judge, provided they have the relevant experience and have completed the required qualifying time.
Legal executives, like solicitors, work in a broad range of legal environments. Job advertisements increasingly call for either a legal executive or a solicitor, with many requesting specialist knowledge of a particular area of law.
Legal executives are predominantly employed by firms of solicitors and tend to work in medium to large-sized firms, including:
Within all these firms, legal executives have their own specialised function.
Legal executives may also be employed by local authority in-house legal departments, where they might be involved in litigation and advocacy in relation to any aspect of the council's work. This type of work is particularly community focused, which requires strong social skills.
There are also employment opportunities in the Civil Service and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) , dealing with issues of public legal concern.
Legal executives also work within the legal departments of large industrial and commercial organisations, such as private utilities and financial institutions, dealing with commercial issues, such as finance, employment and property, and they may work on legal issues for charities.
Legal executives are receiving increasing recognition from employers as cost-effective lawyers in their own right, but they do not have independent practice rights.
You can also apply to specialist recruitment agencies such as BCL Legal Recruitment . For more agencies see Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) . Write speculatively to local firms or approach The Law Society of England and Wales in your area for further assistance.
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