CILEx Courses

CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice

For school leavers, the CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice is the first of the CILEx courses you will undertake on your path to qualification as a chartered legal executive. You can complete it after your GCSEs or A-Levels.

This two-year CILEx course offers a broad, practical introduction to law and legal practice. During your study, you’ll learn about key areas of the law.

It’s made up of 10 units. Seven are compulsory and three are chosen by the student. The compulsory units are as follows:

• An Introduction to Law and Practice
• Contract Law
• Criminal Law
• Land Law
• Law of Tort
• Client Care Skills
• Legal Research Skills

Below are some of the optional units on offer. You must choose at least two practice units while the third unit can be either a law or a practice unit.

• Employment Law
• Family Law
• Law of Wills and Succession
• Civil Litigation Practice
• Criminal Litigation Practice
• Conveyancing Practice
• The Practice of Family Law

Check the CILEx website for a full list of units.

CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice

This is the next level up of the CILEx Courses. It is the final academic stage towards qualifying as a chartered legal executive. You can study this at your own pace, but the qualification normally takes around two years to complete.

Building on the CILEx Level 3 Diploma in Law and Practice (above), students are required to demonstrate a detailed understanding of the law and practice in three specific areas, such as:

• Company and Partnership Law
• Contract Law
• Criminal Law
• Employment Law
• Equity and Trusts
• EU Law
• Family Law
• Immigration law

Plus many more.

For one of these law areas, the candidate must also demonstrate a sound practical understanding of the legal ‘practice’ that arises from the law, including:

• Civil Litigation Practice (linked to Contract Law or Tort Law)
• The Practice of Company Law and Partnership Law (linked to Company Law and Partnership Law)
• Conveyancing Practice (linked to Land Law)
• Criminal Litigation Practice (linked to Criminal Law)
• The Practice of Employment Law (linked to Employment Law)

The candidate must also demonstrate the required level of underpinning professional legal skills by undertaking two mandatory professional skills units, including Client Care Skills and Legal Research Skills.

In summary, to pass the level 6 CILEx course, you must complete:

• One ‘practice’ unit plus its linked law unit
• Any other two law units
• Both professional skills units.

Graduate Fast Track Diploma (CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Legal Practice)

This CILEx course is for law degree and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) graduates. It allows students to skip the costly LPC and BPTC courses and become legal professionals without having to secure a competitive training contract or pupillage.

The qualification comprises two CILEx Level 6 practice subjects, listed above (one of which must relate to a subject you studied within your law degree or GDL), and the CILEx Level 6 Client Care Skills unit.
Graduate Fast Track Diploma CILEx courses are on offer on a full time, part-time or distance learning basis. This gives you the chance to build up legal work experience alongside your study which can be counted towards qualifying employment and lead to your CILEx Fellowship membership.

Chartered legal executive lawyers can now become judges, coroners, advocates and partners in law firms. There’s also an opportunity to move from chartered legal executive to solicitor if you choose.