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You're on a fast track to becoming a

specialist lawyer

You're on a fast track

to specialist lawyer

Your law degree means you’re already part-way to qualifying as a new kind of lawyer. With CPQ, you could be a practising specialist lawyer in as little as two years, with expertise and experience that will put you far ahead of lawyers on other routes. Become a specialist lawyer and help to shape the future of law.
2 years to qualify. Specialise from Day 1.
Over 1000 CILEX-qualified partners. Employed at 70% of top 200 law firms.

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I am already a CILEX member

Become a specialist lawyer

The legal sector is changing fast, and clients of all kinds increasingly want specialist lawyers to help them address the challenges that shape their lives and businesses – professionals whose skills and expertise focus on a specific area of law.

With the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) you’ll begin specialising far earlier than with other routes. As a law graduate, you'll join CILEX as a CILEX Paralegal and begin specialising immediately. The programme has been designed to reflect the legal knowledge you have already acquired as part of your LLB or GDL and to allow you to focus on your chosen specialist area of practice. So, you’ll study modules in civil litigation and criminal practice, as well as conveyancing and wills & probate, with some additional material on legal accounts and legal technology. You will then select modules based on your chosen area of practice, for example, conveyancing, wills & probate or family law. You’ll be focusing on the most relevant areas of law and refining your practical skills so that by the time you qualify you’ll already be a specialist lawyer – equal in professional standing to other lawyers but far ahead in terms of targeted expertise.

CILEX-qualified professionals have been leading the way as specialists for decades and today there are more than 1,000 partners in law firms up and down the UK who took the CILEX route.
Quote from Tim Walmsley, Partner, Stephens Scown LLP. "I’m keen to encourage the CILEX route. There are no limits to the kind of work CILEX-trained professionals can do or the career paths open to us – right up to partnership or senior leadership positions."
Quote from Hena Somaiya, Regulatory Policy, Governance & Legal Consultant, Santander Consumer (UK) plc. "The qualification is becoming increasingly familiar to employers and, because CPQ incorporates practice rights, I would highly recommend it to any aspiring lawyers out there."

A modern way of learning

Just like the practice of law, studying law is changing and CILEX is leading the way. Our new CPQ Graduate Entry programme is a lower cost route for trainees with a law degree or GDL, with fewer assessments than previously but with all regulatory standards satisfied. We use a blended learning approach so that you can study in the way that suits you. Naturally there’s the conventional book bashing – but all of our course materials are available via the CILEX hub so that you can create your own digital study library, make notes and use markers to help your study. Alongside your digital texts, you’ll also have access to a wide range of online seminars and tutorials, streaming lectures and hot topic sessions to bring your learning to life.

At the start of your study programme, depending on your Training Provider, you’ll be assigned a Learning and Development Adviser, a trained professional who will check in with you regularly, answer your questions and direct you to specific resources to support your learning. You may also be able to access additional resources and communities to further help and support your studies.

One of the defining features of CPQ is its emphasis on helping you to develop the practical skills and behaviours that will support your practice. Everyone studying CPQ is required to take our Ethics and Professional Responsibility modules. These will provide you with a solid platform of knowledge about the legal system, professional code of conduct, and your responsibilities in areas such as data protection, client confidentiality and money-laundering. You’ll also work through a series of practical case studies in which you’ll explore your professional obligations and how to behave in different challenging situations.

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Flexibility with CILEX

Studying and qualifying with CILEX is designed to be as flexible as possible to fit around your work and life commitments. You can choose where to study from a wide range of leading training providers and take the CPQ stages at a speed that suits you – there’s no pressure to complete within fixed times and you can sit your CPQ assessments when you are ready.

Unlike other legal training routes you don’t need to have a training contract or graduate placement to start on CPQ – you can even start CPQ before you start your job, though you will need to demonstrate law-related work in order to develop your work experience portfolio and progress through the stages. In fact, many leading employers recognise CILEX training programmes as the high-quality, cost-efficient route for developing their legal talent and offer financial and study support for employees taking this route.
Quote from Daniel Wright, fee-paid Judge of the Employment Tribunal and fee-paid Judge of the First Tier Tribunal, assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. “My employer sees the benefits of having a working judge as part of the team and the different perspective that brings to the legal advice I offer. I would recommend CILEX Lawyers take a look at the possibility of a judicial career.”

CILEX training and qualifications are widely respected among leading law firms and employers across a variety of sectors

Admiral Law, DAC Beachcroft, DWF, Fletchers, Government Legal Department, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, Keoghs, Kennedys, Plexus, Slater and Gordon.
Admiral Law, DAC Beachcroft, DWF, Fletchers, Government Legal Department, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, Keoghs, Kennedys, Plexus, Slater and Gordon.

CPQ Professional stage

CPQ Professional stage, the third and final stage of the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) is open to CILEX Advanced Paralegals or those with an LPC or BPC. You can enter the CPQ framework as a trainee CILEX Lawyer and study CPQ Professional stage to become a CILEX Lawyer. This will take your legal education to the highest level, building on your previous study and enabling you to complete your specialist training to achieve practice rights in your chosen specialism. 

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The best-value route to launch your career in law

As a law graduate, you will join as a CILEX Paralegal and be able to specialise on the areas of law that are most relevant to you and your employer. Your journey to becoming a specialist lawyer – studying, working and applying your learning in the workplace – has been designed to be both flexible and challenging. While you can progress through CPQ as fast as you like, the typical journey for a law graduate to full qualification, will take around two years, though there is no time limit on your progress.

See the table below for indicative costs for each stage of CPQ:

Pricing table with advanced stage (CILEX fee £775 and course fee £2,750, totalling £3,525), Professional stage (CILEX fee £1,100 and course fee £1,850, totalling £2,950). CILEX fee includes resources and assessments, and excludes annual membership. Course fee is based on CILEX Law School as other training providers are available but may have different pricing. All prices on table are correct as of 17 October 2022

To provide you with the greatest possible flexibility in paying for your qualification you can choose to purchase each module separately - you'll need to pay the CILEX fee upfront, but can then pay for each module and exam fee when you are ready to study it.  There will be a requirement to complete the overall stage within three years from the point of registration.

CILEX one-off fee registration (Advanced £400, Professional £1,100). Number of exams (Advanced 4, Professional 2). Total exam fees (Advanced £450, Professional N/A). Total CILEX costs (Advanced £850, Professional £1,100). CILEX Law School fees (Advanced £2,895, Professional £1,850). Total Stage price if purchase by module (Advanced £3,745, Professional £2,950). Registration fee provides access to the professional experience, ethics e-learning modules and core resources (coursebooks), but excludes annual membership, which varies according to membership level. Course fee is based on CILEX Law School as other training providers are available but may have different pricing. All prices on table are correct as of 17 October 2022. Prices correct at 17 October 2022.
CPQ Prices: CPQ Advanced = £5,850. CPQ Professional = £2,950. Total = £8,800. Price for each stage includes CILEX Fee for resources and assessments, and Course Fee based on CILEX Law School. Other training providers are available and may have different pricing. Excludes annual membership which varies according to member level. Prices correct at 1 Jan 2020.

Download the student prospectus for more information on the structure of the CPQ programme and your journey towards becoming a specialist lawyer.

Quote from Faisal Ali, Medical Negligence, Irwin Mitchell. "CILEX was the most cost-effective option compared to qualifying through traditional routes, it also meant that I could work alongside studying which was the decider for going down this route.”

Your CPQ journey to specialist lawyer

CPQ Advanced stage (Law Graduate Entry) - Approx 12-18 months. 3 mandatory modules in civil litigation, criminal law, and conveyancing/skills. 1 optional module in your chosen specialist area. 2 ethics and professional responsibility e-learning modules. Professional Experience. Assessments. - Trainee CILEX Lawyer (CILEX Advanced Paralegal)
CPQ Professional stage - Approx 12 months. Components: Professional Skills project, 1 optional module in your specialist area, Professional Experience, Assessments - CILEX Lawyer

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