It may come as a surprise to some people that the lawyer dealing with their case is not a university law graduate. The common perception of a solicitor is of someone who has gone through university, obtained his or her law degree and then taken a practice-based course. There is, though, an alternative route to becoming a law practitioner.

The Institute of Legal Executives (Ilex) provides a route into the profession for non-graduates through its membership examinations. Successful students will become legal executives, the “third way” into practice alongside solicitors and barristers.

This legal executive route into the profession has become a popular choice for those not wishing to tread the traditionalist path to becoming a solicitor. In fact, with university and Legal Practice Course (LPC) costs spiralling and the supply of “training contracts” diminishing, the way into legal practice offered by Ilex is a more and more attractive option for would-be lawyers.

Legal executives are qualified lawyers and this is recognised by both the Law Society and the Department for Constitutional Affairs. By taking the Ilex route, candidates are specialising at the academic stage as they are not required to take all of the “core” subjects required by the Law Society for LPC purposes. Students study general law and practice subjects at Level 3 (A-level standard) and then choose to specialise in three substantive law subjects and one linked practice subject at honours degree level. A student may, for example, wish to study contract law, tort and employment law and link this to civil litigation as his or her practice-linked paper at degree level. In reality, students can choose the area of speciality in which they wish to qualify based on local needs or career aspirations.

Courses are run through further education colleges although all examinations and assessments are set by Ilex. Students may study either full or part-time and can complete the academic stage of their training within two to four years — or longer, depending on personal circumstances. At that stage they have achieved membership of Ilex and they become trainee legal executives. They will need to complete a further five years on-the-job training before they are fully qualified Fellows of the institute and can call themselves legal executives. Previous experience is taken into account, so the clock can start ticking before attaining the academic qualification. The only proviso is that someone must have at least two years’ work experience after achieving membership status.

This type of training has advantages over the solicitor’s route to qualification, for individuals and for firms. It enables individuals to “earn as they learn”, often having their own case loads, and to earn fee income for their employers. This is attractive to firms, as they do not have to contend with the administrative regulations laid down by the Law Society for trainee solicitors. It allows them to recruit specialist trainee lawyers who will earn an income for them straight away. This is partly why the adverts for legal executives’ jobs have multiplied in recent years — jobs not confined to the private sector, they can be found in local and central government positions, too.

We know that the Legal Services Bill will alter radically the way in which legal services are offered. The planned alternative business structures (ABS), colloquially known as “Tesco law”, will shake traditionalists to the core. The long-established insular attitude displayed by some of the smaller firms will have no place in post-legislative England and Wales. There has never been a better time to consider the Ilex route into the legal profession as these new entities take their place.

Members and Fellows of Ilex play a pivotal role in legal firms and their roles have been enhanced in the past few years to include a greater right of audience. Fellows can now become Fellow Advocates, giving them the same rights in court as solicitors. They can often be found heading departments or actively involved in litigation work. In fact, their roles are so similar to solicitors that the average client could not distinguish between them.







The author is a lecturer in law at Radbrook College, Shrewsbury

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