The CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) provides the route to become authorised as a Chartered Legal Executive (CLE) and a CILEX Lawyer. The CPQ journey consists not only of formally assessed learning, but also incorporates Professional Experience at each stage to ensure that learners not only acquire knowledge and skills, but also successfully demonstrate them in the workplace.
The competency-based qualification framework has core legal knowledge and commercial awareness at its heart allowing for focus on specialist areas of law from an early stage.
The progressive nature of the CPQ over a number of stages and years is designed to build confidence allowing learners to obtain a qualification at each stage, with the choice to progress to the next stage or pausing at the level of qualification they require.
Each stage of the CPQ combines a focus on technical expertise and practical skills with the development of the core behaviours required to create forward-thinking, commercially minded, adaptable lawyers who really understand the clients they serve.
The CPQ route requires that to be authorised as a CLE and become a CILEX Lawyer you must:
Additionally, in the areas of Dispute Resolution (Civil Litigation), Family Litigation and Criminal Litigation, there is an additional requirement to complete an advocacy skills course.
The CPQ consists of a number of qualifications, with learners entering at the stage suitable to their existing qualifications.
The Certificate in Legal Practice is an introductory legal qualification on the CPQ Framework. This qualification aims to create a route into studying law for those either not in legal work but wishing to explore that option, or those in a junior role wanting to increase their legal knowledge to perform their current role better or in preparation for developing into a full paralegal role in the future.
It is not a pre-requisite for entry to the CPQ for the Certificate of Legal Practice to be completed as entry can start at the CPQ Foundation stage, however those who do complete the Certificate in Legal Practice will be able to progress onto CPQ Foundation stage and their CILEX Certificate will entitle them to exemptions from two or more CPQ Foundation stage module exams.
Suitable for: Non-law graduates
Outcome: Learners who complete the CILEX Certificate in Legal Practice may progress onto CPQ Foundation stage with the exemptions for CPQ Legal Systems and Professional and Legal Skills modules
The CPQ Foundation stage provides a broad foundational knowledge of law and its practical application with five compulsory modules. Learners must also complete the first of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility e-learning modules and gain Professional Experience.
Suitable for: Non-law graduates
Outcome: Learners who complete this level will obtain a CILEX Diploma in Law. They can continue their legal journey onto the CPQ Advanced stage. Professional Experience is not required to progress to the next stage, but must be obtained to achieve the Paralegal membership grade.
The CPQ Advanced stage builds on the knowledge acquired in CPQ Foundation stage. At this stage there are 3 mandatory modules and one optional module in a chosen specialist area. Learners must also complete the second Ethics and Professional Responsibility module.
Suitable for: Those who have completed CPQ Foundation
Outcome: Learners who complete this level will obtain a CILEX Advanced Diploma in Law and Practice. They can continue their legal journey onto the CPQ Professional stage. Professional Experience is not required to progress to the next stage, but must be obtained to achieve the Advanced Paralegal membership grade.
The CPQ Professional stage builds on the knowledge acquired in the CPQ Advanced stage. At this stage there are two modules. One is a mandatory module in which learners must complete a Professional and Legal Skills work-based project. Learners will also choose a combined Law and Practice module, which reflects their area of practice in the workplace, or area of practice in which qualifying Professional Experience is being achieved, and that they wish to achieve practising rights in.
Suitable for: Those who have completed CPQ Advanced
Outcome: Learners who complete this level of qualification together with the required will be accredited as a CILEX Lawyer. CILEX Lawyer is a professional designation that confers the same practice rights in the chosen specialism as those enjoyed by a solicitor. Learners will be required to evidence their competence via their Professional Experience portfolio. At this stage, their professional competence will also be assessed by CILEX Regulation, thus allowing a trainee to be authorised to practice in a specialist area of law.
NOTE: Completion of a CRL approved advocacy course is a requirement to achieve CILEX Lawyer status in the litigation pathways; Dispute Resolution/Civil Litigation; Family Litigation and Criminal Litigation.
CILEX has designed a shortened CPQ route for LLB Graduates, which recognises the skills and knowledge they will have achieved from a degree awarded by a Higher Education provider. This route is referred to as the CILEX Graduate Qualification (CGQ).
The programme has been designed to reflect the legal knowledge already acquired as part of the LLB to allow focus on a chosen specialist area of practice. Learners will complete up to four modules in stage 1, before advancing to the two CPQ Professional modules in stage 2. Learners must also complete two Ethics and Professional Responsibility modules and gain professional experience.
NOTE: For LPC Graduates there is an additional exemption provided requiring just one module to be completed at stage 1 and two modules in stage 2.
Suitable for: LLB and LPC Graduates
Outcome: Learners who complete stages 1 and 2 of qualification together with the required Professional Experience, will be accredited as a CILEX Lawyer. CILEX Lawyer is a professional designation that confers the same practice rights in the chosen specialism as those enjoyed by a solicitor. Learners will be required to evidence their competence via their Professional Experience portfolio. At this stage, their professional competence will also be assessed by CILEX Regulation, thus allowing a trainee to be authorised to practice in a specialist area of law.
NOTE: Completion of a CRL approved advocacy course is a requirement to achieve CILEX Lawyer status in the litigation pathways; Dispute Resolution/Civil Litigation; Family Litigation and Criminal Litigation.
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. The professional experience achieved alongside the set exams and ethics modules will allow you to meet the requirements of the CILEX Education Standard on completion of each stage of the CPQ.
You will need to evidence your competence against the relevant competences in the CILEX Professional Competency Framework. This competence will need to be validated by your employer for successful completion of each stage and for the corresponding membership grade to be awarded.
You will be required to write a statement or ‘narrative’ for each behaviour/activity showing how you meet the standards for the specific behaviour/activity as set out in the Professional Competency Framework and provide examples of how you personally are applying each behaviour/activity in your place of work. The Professional Experience is an important part of the CPQ journey and therefore your supervisor will be required to provide feedback to support your submission.
The evidence provided will need to meet the requirements of the CRL Education Standards to enable the award of Chartered Legal Executive status. A minimum of 2,300 hours qualifying experience will be required with at least 1 year served in the Advanced Paralegal grade of membership.
At CPQ Professional stage, you will need to compile a portfolio of professional experience to show that you meet both:
At the time you apply to have your experience assessed against the qualifying experience criteria, CILEX Regulation will ask you some questions about your background through a statement of prior conduct in the application form. By completing this declaration, you are confirming that you want your suitability for admission as a chartered legal executive to be assessed by CILEx Regulation in accordance with the Enforcement Rules and in line with the Code of Conduct.
With the introduction of CPQ, your current qualifications continue to be valid. If you have completed the Level 6 Diploma, CILEX advises that you should continue to qualify as a Fellow using the current work-based learning portfolio process and then gain your practice rights by becoming a CILEX Practitioner – either by portfolio or via the new ‘fast track’ route which is shortly to be announced by CILEX directly.
If a learner has completed the CILEX Level 3 Diploma with the necessary units to gain exemptions against CPQ Foundation stage, they can either enrol on to CPQ Advanced or on to the current Level 6 Diploma. More information on transitioning to CPQ can be found here.
There are three separate fees for the CPQ, consisting of:
*Exam fees are included when you purchase a full CPQ Stage registration with CILEX. If you’ve purchased your CPQ registration on a modular basis with CILEX, there will be an exam fee for each exam entry. If you prefer not to pay for each exam separately, you’ll need to purchase a full registration with CILEX.
