Legal executive
Legal executives specialise in one area of law and carry out similar tasks to solicitors.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your day-to-day duties will depend on your specialism. You could:
- advise clients and explain legal matters
- contact mortgage lenders, planning officers or other professionals on behalf of clients
- research and summarise legal information
- prepare legal documents
- write to clients
- draw up wills
- prepare contracts
- represent clients in court
- prepare bills for clients
Working environment
You could work at a police station, in a court or in an office.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could take on more complex cases and build up a large client base. You could also progress to leading a team of legal executives and secretaries, or become a practice manager in a law firm.
With further study, you could qualify as a solicitor.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- excellent verbal communication skills
- excellent written communication skills
- the ability to work well with others
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- the ability to use your initiative
- the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
You could do a law degree, or a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) if your degree is not in law. You would then do:
- the Graduate Fast-Track Diploma
- 3 years' qualifying employment
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
You could take the following college courses to qualify:
- CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice
- CILEx Level 6 Professional Higher Diploma in Law and Practice
After completing a college qualification, you would do a 3-year period of qualifying employment. This means you'll carry out legal work under the supervision of a solicitor, senior chartered legal executive, barrister or licensed conveyancer.
You could do this in a legal practice, a legal department of a private company or in a government department.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
More Information
You could take start by taking a Paralegal Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
You could then move on to a:
- Chartered Legal Executive Level 6 Non-Degree Apprenticeship
- Chartered Legal Executive Litigator and Advocate Level 7 Non-Degree Apprenticeship
As part of an apprenticeship you will study to gain the following professional qualifications:
- CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice
- CILEx Level 6 Professional Higher Diploma in Law and Practice
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More Information
A lot of people work for a law firm and study for qualifications part time.
You could study for CILEx qualifications even if you're not working in a legal environment, as long as you meet their entry requirements. Qualifications may be studied full-time, part-time or by distance learning.
You'll still need some work experience to give you a chance of finding a job once you're qualified.
Registration
- you'll need to register with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives to start your training
Further information
You can get more details about a legal executive career from:
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