Legal executives are fee-earning qualified lawyers who undertake similar work to solicitors, specialising in a specific legal area such as litigation or conveyancing.

A legal executive, formally known as a Chartered Legal Executive, is a type of lawyer. Although the practice of a legal executive is similar to the practice of a solicitor, the route to qualifying as a legal executive is quite different than the route to qualifying as a solicitor. Legal executives are considered to be one of the three core branches of the legal profession in England and Wales, along with solicitors and barristers.

Compared to solicitors, a legal executive’s training and practice tend to be more specialised, often focusing on a single area of law. Legal executives work side-by-side with solicitors much of the time, and the working hours per week are comparable. Like a solicitor, a legal executive may:

- provide legal advice

- research cases and legislation

- draft legal documents

- interact with clients and other legal professionals such as barristers

- represent clients in court on a limited basis.

Since the Legal Services Act of 2007 was passed, the only three major differences between solicitors and legal executives are that (i) the route to qualification as a legal executive is considerably less competitive and less expensive; (ii) the right of a legal executive to perform reserved legal activities (see below) is circumscribed, and (iii) salaries are typically (but not always) lower for legal executives than for solicitors.

Taken from allaboutlaw

To become a chartered legal executive you must complete the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ). The qualification is a progressive framework across three stages:

• CPQ Foundation - completing this stage leads to accreditation as a CILEX Paralegal.

• CPQ Advanced - builds on the foundation stage and includes ethics and professional responsibility module as well as a further period of professional experience. Leads to accreditation as an advanced paralegal.

• CPQ Professional - leads to accreditation as a full CILEX Lawyer in a chosen specialist area of law and with full practice rights.

Trainees with a legal practice course (LPC) will enter CPQ at Professional stage, although they may be required to complete the underpinning Advanced stage module. From September 2021, the LPC will be replaced with the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Students can register for CPQ and is available to study through CILEX Law School (CLS) and a number of approved providers.

https://www.thelawyerportal.com/study-law/legal-apprenticeships/chartered-legal-executive-apprenticeship-guide/

https://www.cilex.org.uk/study/apprenticeships/apprenticeships_in_law

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/chartered-legal-executive-v1-0

Typical employers of legal executives

• Private practice solicitors' firms

• Local authorities

• Legal departments

• Industrial and commercial organisations