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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 CILEX Lawyer. The CILEX Graduate Qualification (CGQ) provides an entry point to the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) designed specifically for law graduates. With CGQ, 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.
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 Graduate Qualification (CGQ) you’ll begin specialising far earlier than with other routes 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.

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.

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. The CILEX Graduate Qualification is a lower cost route for trainees with a law degree or GDL, with all regulatory standards satisfied. We use a blended learning approach so that you can study in the way that suits you. Alongside traditional 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 CGQ is its emphasis on helping you to develop the practical skills and behaviours that will support your practice. Everyone studying CGQ 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 CGQ stages at a speed that suits you – there’s no pressure to complete within fixed times and you can sit your CGQ 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 CGQ – though you will need to demonstrate law-related work in order to develop your work experience portfolio in Stage 2 of the qualification. 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.

Recognised Degrees
We partner with universities to offer a flexible and accessible route for graduates into CILEX qualifications. If you have a law degree from one of the following universities, please contact us to discuss the exemptions you'd be eligible for:

  • Coventry University
  • Portsmouth University
  • University Centre Leeds
  • ULAW
  • University of Bedfordshire
  • University of Wales Trinity St David
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.

The best-value route to launch your career in law

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 CGQ 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 the CILEX Graduate Qualification.

CILEX CGQ Fees

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 CGQ Modular fees
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.
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.”

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