Legal Executive
Encyclopedia
Legal executives are trained legal professionals in England & Wales, Northern Ireland
, Ireland
, New Zealand
, Australia
, Singapore
and Hong Kong
who often specialise in a particular area of law
. There is, however, no direct equivalent to a legal executive in Scotland
. Law clerks in Canada
and paralegals in the USA act as and fill the role of legal executives while having lesser professional status.
(ILEX) was founded in 1892 and became a company limited by guarantee in 1963 with the support of the Law Society of England and Wales
. ILEX is a professional body which represents legal executives and trainee legal executives. Legal executives in England & Wales are qualified lawyers in a specialist area and undertake work similar to that of a solicitor
or in other normal activities of a solicitor when supervised by a member of that profession. They can also take an extra ILEX qualification to qualify as advocates, although their rights of audience are restricted in comparison to those granted to solicitors or barristers.
Legal executives in England & Wales are fee earners and are now eligible to become partners in legal disciplinary partnerships (LDP) as well as advocates or judges. They will also be eligible to be partners in alternative business structures (ABS) when they come into force. The work of legal executives requires them to have the same high ethical standards as barristers and solicitors, and all legal executives are regulated by ILEX professional standards.
Legal executives attend to a wide range of legal work, generally specialising in one or more of the following:
Legal executives undertake a series of training courses and are required to pass qualifications in law in the area of practice they intend to specialise in. The final qualifications are equivalent to an honours degree course. Trainees will often work at the same time as studying in order to acquire practical skills. The courses can be undertaken at a college, university or through an open learning program. The courses are open to graduates and non-graduates.
and affidavits. Fellows also can bring action in court
and appear for clients in certain lower courts. Appearance in higher courts requires a separate ILEX qualification to become a legal executive advocate.
Intending students already holding a Legal Practice Course
(LPC) or Bar Vocational Course (BVC) qualification are exempt from the ILEX academic qualifications and can immediately apply to become a graduate member. Graduate members must then work under the supervision of a qualified legal executive or a solicitor at a firm, either in-house at a private company or in government (provided their work is substantially of a legal rather than administrative nature). After two years at membership level, they may apply to become an Institute Fellow. They must have by this point a minimum of five years' practical legal experience.
Once a student has successfully completed a period of qualifying employment, he or she will become a Fellow of ILEX, a qualified lawyer and will be allowed to hold themselves out as a legal executive and use the designatory letters F.Inst.L.Ex. Fellows are required to maintain and improve their knowledge by undertaking at least 16 hours of CPD each year. A proportion of those hours must relate to their area of specialism. Fellows are issued an annual practising certificate.
An ILEX fellow who wishes to go on to qualify as a solicitor is usually allowed to forego a traineeship
. For this exemption to apply, they must have attained the fellowship level by the time they complete the vocational stage of solicitor training, i.e. the LPC. It goes without saying they must also have completed the academic stage; however, having come through the ILEX route to qualification, this usually means taking a few extra modules of the ILEX level-6 qualification.
In the 1950s and 1960s England suffered a shortage of solicitors when population growth
unexpectedly exceeded the number of entrants into the profession. To improve the availability of legal services, the Law Society began aggressive recruitment efforts to convince young people to choose law as a career. As part of this effort, the Law Society decided to turn the managing clerk into a true legal profession of its own and sponsored the ILEX's creation in 1963 as well as the change in title to legal executive. In the Law Society's own words, ILEX was intended "to stimulate recruitment to the unadmitted ranks of the professional status [...] and would offer [...] a career with proper incentives."
, it works with the Institute of Legal Executives (Australia) which was formed in 1994 and represents legal executives in the rest of Australia. Both Legal Executives organisations in Australia work to formalise legal training and promote education for the position of Legal Executive. They award Diplomas, Certificates in Professional Legal studies, as well as prizes and busaries for students.
In south Australia the law society provides an equivalent association for paralegals.
is the professional body representing legal executives in Ireland and with the stated aim to provide a system of training and examination and to obtain a recognised professional qualification for those engaged in legal work in Ireland.
which advances and protects the status and interests of legal executives. At present it has approximately 650 members.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
who often specialise in a particular area of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. There is, however, no direct equivalent to a legal executive in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Law clerks in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and paralegals in the USA act as and fill the role of legal executives while having lesser professional status.
ILEX
The Institute of Legal ExecutivesInstitute of Legal Executives
The Institute of Legal Executives is the professional body for legal executives in England and Wales and an examination board providing qualifications for legal executives, paralegals and legal secretaries.-History:...
(ILEX) was founded in 1892 and became a company limited by guarantee in 1963 with the support of the Law Society of England and Wales
Law Society of England and Wales
The Law Society is the professional association that represents the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important...
. ILEX is a professional body which represents legal executives and trainee legal executives. Legal executives in England & Wales are qualified lawyers in a specialist area and undertake work similar to that of a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
or in other normal activities of a solicitor when supervised by a member of that profession. They can also take an extra ILEX qualification to qualify as advocates, although their rights of audience are restricted in comparison to those granted to solicitors or barristers.
Legal executives in England & Wales are fee earners and are now eligible to become partners in legal disciplinary partnerships (LDP) as well as advocates or judges. They will also be eligible to be partners in alternative business structures (ABS) when they come into force. The work of legal executives requires them to have the same high ethical standards as barristers and solicitors, and all legal executives are regulated by ILEX professional standards.
Legal executives attend to a wide range of legal work, generally specialising in one or more of the following:
- residential & commercial conveyancingConveyancingIn law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien....
- willsWill (law)A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
& trusts - personal injury
- family law
- criminal law
- employment law
- immigration law
- litigation
Legal executives undertake a series of training courses and are required to pass qualifications in law in the area of practice they intend to specialise in. The final qualifications are equivalent to an honours degree course. Trainees will often work at the same time as studying in order to acquire practical skills. The courses can be undertaken at a college, university or through an open learning program. The courses are open to graduates and non-graduates.
Fellows of ILEX
An ILEX fellow is a qualified lawyer. Only fellows of ILEX (F.Inst.L.Ex) can lawfully hold themselves out as legal executives and are qualified by the Crown (by way of ILEX) to be commissioners of oaths able to take depositionsDeposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
and affidavits. Fellows also can bring action in court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
and appear for clients in certain lower courts. Appearance in higher courts requires a separate ILEX qualification to become a legal executive advocate.
Membership levels
In September 2009 legal executive training in England and Wales changed. The ILEX qualification now emphasises and examines the practical work of the law as well as continuing with the necessary academic examinations. At the same time, a number of new membership grades were introduced by ILEX. ILEX now offers the following membership categories which can be joined according to experience and qualifications held:- student member - for those wishing to enter the legal profession, who have no relevant legal qualification, or those with less than three years’ work experience of a predominantly legal nature.
- affiliate member - for those with at least one ILEX level-3 unit-qualifications, or who have completed a relevant level-2 legal qualification, or gained at least three years’ work of a predominantly legal nature.
- associate member – for those who have completed their ILEX level-3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice (the first stage of ILEX qualifications), or who are graduates with qualifying law degrees. Associate members will be entitled to use the designatory letters A.Inst.L.Ex after their name and be required to undertake 8 hours of continuing professional developmentContinuing Professional DevelopmentContinuing professional development or Continuing professional education is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives.-CPD research:...
(CPD). - graduate member - for those who have completed both their ILEX level-3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice and their ILEX level-6 Professional Higher Diploma in Law and Practice (including the ILEX Graduate ‘Fast-Track’ Diploma), or who are Legal Practice Course (LPC) or Bar Vocational Course (BVC) graduates. Graduate members will be entitled to use the designatory letters G.Inst.L.Ex after their name and be required to undertake 12 hours of CPD.
Intending students already holding a Legal Practice Course
Legal Practice Course
The Legal Practice Course also known as the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practiceis the vocational stage for becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. The course is the successor to Law Society Finals and is more vocational in its syllabus. The LPC can be taken in many different formats including...
(LPC) or Bar Vocational Course (BVC) qualification are exempt from the ILEX academic qualifications and can immediately apply to become a graduate member. Graduate members must then work under the supervision of a qualified legal executive or a solicitor at a firm, either in-house at a private company or in government (provided their work is substantially of a legal rather than administrative nature). After two years at membership level, they may apply to become an Institute Fellow. They must have by this point a minimum of five years' practical legal experience.
Once a student has successfully completed a period of qualifying employment, he or she will become a Fellow of ILEX, a qualified lawyer and will be allowed to hold themselves out as a legal executive and use the designatory letters F.Inst.L.Ex. Fellows are required to maintain and improve their knowledge by undertaking at least 16 hours of CPD each year. A proportion of those hours must relate to their area of specialism. Fellows are issued an annual practising certificate.
An ILEX fellow who wishes to go on to qualify as a solicitor is usually allowed to forego a traineeship
Trainee solicitor
In the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong and certain other English common law jurisdictions, a trainee solicitor is a prospective lawyer undergoing professional training at a law firm to qualify as a full-fledged solicitor...
. For this exemption to apply, they must have attained the fellowship level by the time they complete the vocational stage of solicitor training, i.e. the LPC. It goes without saying they must also have completed the academic stage; however, having come through the ILEX route to qualification, this usually means taking a few extra modules of the ILEX level-6 qualification.
History in England & Wales
The modern legal executive evolved from the 19th-century managing clerk. When solicitor firms started to grow in the 19th century, they increasingly relied on an ever-expanding number of law clerks for drafting and organizing documents. Some of these clerks in turn became knowledgeable about the law and were allowed to manage their fellow clerks; hence, they were called managing clerks.In the 1950s and 1960s England suffered a shortage of solicitors when population growth
Post-World War II baby boom
The end of World War II brought a baby boom to many countries, especially Western ones. There is some disagreement as to the precise beginning and ending dates of the post-war baby boom, but it is most often agreed to begin in the years immediately after the war, ending more than a decade later;...
unexpectedly exceeded the number of entrants into the profession. To improve the availability of legal services, the Law Society began aggressive recruitment efforts to convince young people to choose law as a career. As part of this effort, the Law Society decided to turn the managing clerk into a true legal profession of its own and sponsored the ILEX's creation in 1963 as well as the change in title to legal executive. In the Law Society's own words, ILEX was intended "to stimulate recruitment to the unadmitted ranks of the professional status [...] and would offer [...] a career with proper incentives."
Australia
The Institute of Legal Executives (Victoria) was set up in 1966 and represents legal executives in the state of VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, it works with the Institute of Legal Executives (Australia) which was formed in 1994 and represents legal executives in the rest of Australia. Both Legal Executives organisations in Australia work to formalise legal training and promote education for the position of Legal Executive. They award Diplomas, Certificates in Professional Legal studies, as well as prizes and busaries for students.
In south Australia the law society provides an equivalent association for paralegals.
Hong Kong
The Law Society of Hong Kong recently consulted with ILEX over benchmark standards for those using the title 'legal executive' in Hong Kong. A course called the Professional Diploma in Legal Executive Studies was created by in partnership with Chinese University to meet the benchmarks.Ireland
The Irish Institute of Legal Executives IILEXIILEX
The Irish Institute of Legal Executives was formed in 1987, incorporated in 1992. It consists of and is the representative body for Legal Executives in Ireland. The aim of the Institute is to provide a system of training and examination and to obtain a recognized professional qualification for...
is the professional body representing legal executives in Ireland and with the stated aim to provide a system of training and examination and to obtain a recognised professional qualification for those engaged in legal work in Ireland.
Categories of IILEX Membership
- Senior Legal Executive Member S.I.I.L.Ex.
- Legal Executive Member M.I.I.L.Ex.
- Associate Member A.I.I.L.Ex.
- Student Legal Executive Member
New Zealand
The New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives is an incorporated societyIncorporated society
in New Zealand an incorporated society is defined as being a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908....
which advances and protects the status and interests of legal executives. At present it has approximately 650 members.
External links
- Institute of Legal Executives(Australia)
- Institute Law Clerks Ontario(Canada)
- IILEX - Irish Institute of Legal Executives
- The New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives
- The Institute of Legal Executives (UK)
- ILEX Tutorial College
- ILEX Paralegal Programmes - Law for Non-Lawyers
- The Legal Executive Journal - The only publication distributed to all ILEX members