Family Litigation Legal Practice Qualification
A clear, direct route to becoming a family litigator with practice rights.
We are an approved CILEX Regulation training provider
Work towards becoming a Chartered Legal Executive Litigator in family litigation, authorised by CILEX Regulation.
If you want to build your career in family law, you need sound legal knowledge and the judgment to use it sensitively. Clients may be making difficult decisions about their relationships, finances or children. They need clear advice they can understand and act on.
The Family Litigation Legal Practice Qualification combines a foundation in law and professional skills with specialist study in family law and practice, including child care law. Study online with tutor support while working towards family litigation practice rights.
Already working in a family department? Connect further study with the matters you help progress, and develop your understanding of the legal decisions behind them.
Enrolment is open all year round. Completing the course is one part of the route: you must also meet CILEX Regulation’s experience, competence and suitability requirements and obtain authorisation.
Key information
- Qualification: Family Litigation Legal Practice Qualification
- Works towards: Enrolment is open all year round
Completing the course is one part of the route, you must also meet CILEX Regulation's experience, competence and suitability requirements and obtain authorisation. - Regulator: CILEX Regulation
- Start dates: Enrolment is open all year round
- Course size: 10 core units and 3 specialist units, less approved exemptions.
- Assessment: Online, remotely invigilated examinations, with three assessment windows each year
4,000+ learners trained
800+ employer relationships
Specialists in legal training, with CILEX, SQE, CLC and more under one roof
Tutors with legal practice experience
1:1 feedback with replies within 48 hours
Professional resources
Lexis+ UK legal research access. Use professional legal sources to support your studies and develop the research skills you will use in practice.
Build on the work you want to do
You may be helping to manage a caseload and want a clearer route to qualification. Perhaps you have completed legal study and now want to specialise in resolving disputes. What you have already learned matters, as does the work you can build on.
- Paralegals in claims and disputes – develop the knowledge behind the claims, correspondence and procedural decisions you encounter at work. Suitable supervised work may contribute towards your experience requirements while you study, provided it meets CILEX Regulation’s criteria.
- Law graduates and people with previous legal qualifications – focus your further study on family practice and find out whether your existing qualifications give you exemptions. Knowing which units you still need makes it easier to plan your time and assess the cost.
- Starting a career in family litigation – talk to us about your education and experience before choosing your course. We can explain your starting point and how suitable legal work fits into the route to authorisation.
What you are working towards
Once authorised by CILEX Regulation, you can conduct family litigation within the scope of your authorisation, with the appropriate practising certificate and subject to the relevant regulatory requirements. Depending on your role and competence, your work may involve divorce, financial arrangements, disputes about children, domestic abuse injunctions or care proceedings.
The work can include interviewing clients, reviewing evidence, drafting applications and statements, negotiating and preparing matters for court. Good advice helps a client understand the options and their implications, including when a negotiated outcome may be appropriate. Legal accuracy and careful communication matter together.
We also offer advocacy skills training
If your ambition includes representing clients in court, we also offer advocacy skills training. Speak to us about the training available and the requirements for family practice. Gaining advocacy rights requires the relevant approved training, assessment and separate authorisation by CILEX Regulation.
Enquire about advocacy skills training
Eligible family advocates can later pursue Higher Rights of Audience after the first renewal of their advocacy certificate, subject to further training, assessment and authorisation requirements.
A foundation in law with a family litigation specialism
Ten core units establish a foundation in law and professional practice. Three specialist units focus on family law and its practical application.
The core units (Level 3):
The core combines wider legal knowledge with the skills and responsibilities of legal work.
Three specialist units (Level 6):
Family Law: develop your understanding of the legal principles governing family relationships. This gives you a foundation for identifying the issues raised by a client’s circumstances and explaining the legal options.
Family Law and Practice: connect legal knowledge with the process of progressing a family matter. Understanding the practical steps helps you see how advice, evidence and procedure fit together.
Child Care Law Practice: build your understanding of the legal framework and practice relating to child care matters. This is an area where careful analysis and a clear understanding of professional responsibilities are particularly important.
Assessment that you can plan around: study and prepare one unit at a time, with three assessment windows each year. This gives you defined points to work towards while organising your preparation around work and other commitments. Exams are taken online under remote invigilation. Results are issued within six weeks.
Check what your previous study can count towards
If you already hold legal qualifications, you may not need every unit. Tell us about your law degree, GDL, LPC, CILEX qualifications or SQE assessments, and we will review your entry route and potential exemptions.
An exemption is not automatic simply because you have studied law. It depends on what you have completed and how that learning meets the applicable requirements.
Support that makes study time count
When you are studying around a demanding job, time matters. You need to know what to work through, where to get help and what to improve before assessment.
- A clear structure for each topic – Topic overviews, recorded lectures and interactive learning give you a sequence to follow. Knowledge checks, including multiple-choice and short-answer questions, help you test your understanding as you progress.
- Tutor guidance when you need an explanation – You can ask for help when a rule is unclear or you are unsure how to approach a problem. Individual feedback helps you see where your understanding is sound and where further work is needed.
- Preparation before the final exam – Mock assessments give you a chance to put your learning into practice. The feedback helps you focus your next stage of preparation, whether that means revisiting the law or improving the way you explain its application.
- Guidance beyond the academic units – Support covers preparation of the competency and litigation experience portfolios. You still need suitable work, your own evidence and supervisor support, but you can seek guidance on the requirements as you prepare.
Fees and Funding
Before you plan the cost, check what you need to study. Previous qualifications may give you exemptions. We can review your starting point and explain the fees that apply.
£[TBC] full course fee
Spread the cost with a monthly payment plan, or ask us about employer sponsorship, many of our learners are funded by their firm.
What the course fee includes
- All course materials and structured learning within our online learning platform
- Mock assessments
- Unlimited tutor guidance
- Exam fees (excluding resits)
Other costs
CILEX Regulation charges separately for authorisation. Its published fees effective from 1 January 2026 include £92 for the qualifying experience application and £450 for a Chartered Legal Executive application with a specialism. Once authorised, an annual practising fee applies; the published Chartered Legal Executive fee is £387. Additional practising charges may apply. Advocacy training, assessment and authorisation costs are separate.
Check CILEX Regulation’s current fees
Funding options
- Self-funding: Pay in full or spread the cost through monthly instalments by Direct Debit.
- Sponsored by an employer
- Scholarships
Price Match does not apply to these qualifications.
Develop family litigation expertise within your team
If you have a capable paralegal ready to develop, this pathway can give their progression a clearer structure. They can remain in work while studying subjects relevant to the disputes your team handles. Plan study alongside supervised casework. As the learner develops, suitable tasks and feedback can help them apply what they are learning and build the evidence needed for authorisation. The firm gains a practical framework for developing expertise within the team. We can discuss course requirements and employer-funded study with you, helping you plan training alongside the role. The learner’s responsibilities must remain appropriate to their competence, supervision and authorisation status.
Questions before you decide (FAQs)
Start with a clear route
Tell us what you have studied and the legal work you do. We will explain your entry route and any exemptions, so you can decide whether the course fits your plans before committing.
Ready to apply? Complete the online enrolment form. We will review your background, confirm the course requirements and explain the next steps for enrolment.
