Criminal Litigation Legal Practice Qualification

Step 1 – CILEX regulated qualification (this course) – Demonstrate your technical knowledge in the specialist area by completing the Criminal Litigation Legal Practice Qualification, 13 units, studied online, one at a time.

Step 2 – Qualifying experience (through your legal work) – Build 2,300 hours of qualifying legal experience. Submit a Qualifying Experience Application Form, a reference and the assessment fee to have it confirmed by CILEX Regulation; you can do this before, during or after step 1. Note: as part of your application to CILEX Regulation for practice rights, in addition to confirmation of your 2,300 hours of qualifying experience, you will be required to provide information about your employment, starting with the most recent. The employment must show three years’ general legal experience, including practice in the specialist area for which you are seeking authorisation in the two years preceding the application.

Step 3 – Competency portfolio (through your legal work) – Evidence six competencies with examples from your real cases, supported by your supervisor, and by us. Prepared alongside steps 1 and 2, submitted once the qualification is complete; the evidence must be no more than two years old when you apply.

Step 4 – Litigation experience portfolio (through your legal work) – Evidence your litigation experience with five cases from the two years in the period before your application.

Step 5 – Apply for authorisation – Apply to CILEX Regulation to practise as a Chartered Legal Executive Litigator (Criminal Litigation), an authorised person under the Legal Services Act 2007. Your application includes the application form (qualifying experience confirmation, employment history, details of any prior conduct, an employer’s declaration), your qualifying experience confirmation letter, evidence of your qualifications, both portfolios and a supervisor reference. CILEX Regulation charges a non-refundable assessment fee.

Ten core units build your grounding across the law and professional skills. Three specialist units take you deep into criminal practice, and that is where your graduate-level study goes.

Core units: 10 (set at Level 3 – 1,500 hrs TQT)

• General law: Legal System of England and Wales
• Introduction to Dispute Resolution
• Introduction to Criminal Practice
• Introduction to Public Law
• Introduction to Human Rights Law
• Introduction to Conveyancing
• Introduction to Wills and Probate

Skills, conduct and accounts: Legal Skills and Technology in Practice • Accounting Rules and Procedures • Conduct and Professional Ethics

Specialist units: 3 (Level 6 – 350 hrs TQT)

• Criminal Law
• Criminal Litigation
• Rules of Evidence (Criminal)

Degree-standard study, focused entirely on criminal practice. No graduate-level exams outside your chosen specialism on your way to a criminal career.

• One unit at a time, modular study that fits around work
• Online exams, remotely invigilated, no exam halls
• 3 windows a year, sit each unit when you are ready
• Results in 6 weeks, keep momentum between units

No. A degree is one entry route, not a requirement. CILEX qualifications can also get you started. Tell us your background and our team will confirm your route.

It is flexible, the pace is yours. Study is modular, one unit at a time with three assessment windows a year.

2,300 hours of qualifying legal experience, assessed by CILEX Regulation, which most learners build in their existing role while studying. Your application must also show three years’ general legal experience, including criminal litigation practice in the two years before you apply, and a litigation experience portfolio of five cases from that period.

Once authorised by CILEX Regulation with criminal litigation practice rights, you can conduct criminal litigation independently as an authorised person under the Legal Services Act 2007, with the option to add rights of audience, and later higher rights, through further advocacy courses.

Online, remotely invigilated exams for each unit, with results within six weeks. Core units are set at Level 3; the three criminal specialist units are set at degree standard (Level 6).

The SQE examines every area of law at graduate level in two national sittings, and requires a degree or an equivalent qualification or experience recognised by the SRA. This qualification is specialist by design, your degree-level study goes into criminal law only, assessment is spread unit by unit, and you qualify with practice rights in the field you actually work in.