THE traditional message to university law undergraduates is that they have two options — barrister or solicitor. The third way into legal practice through the Institute of Legal Executives (Ilex) is often overlooked.
Ilex is the professional body representing “legal executives”. Formed 42 years ago, it has 7,252 registered fellows and just under 1,500 members. This is somewhat short of the number of solicitors in practice — the Law Society of England and Wales says that in 2004 there were 96,757 solicitors in practice and the Bar Council states, for the same period, that there were 13,364 self-employed and employed barristers. However, Ilex does represent a sizeable minority within the legal profession.
What is a legal executive? A common misconception is that legal executives are paralegals, and you have only to read some legal textbooks to confirm this. In fact they are qualified lawyers in their own right. The academic and vocational training they receive is of the same standard as other members of the profession. To qualify, trainees have to pass degree-standard examinations. They then have to work for five years under the supervision of a solicitor or Ilex fellow. A legal executive’ s role is similar to that of a solicitor, undertaking roles either in private practice, local and central government or industry.
There are distinctions between solicitors and legal executives, although in a post-Clementi world these differences are likely to diminish rapidly. Legal executives have a limited right of audience in court, although fellows can take a short advocacy course to give them identical rights as solicitors. Fellows are not permitted to become partners in firms of solicitors, although this may soon change. However, many legal executives occupy senior positions within practice.
So why should law graduates consider a career as a legal executive? The first reason is the high cost of the Legal Practice Course (LPC). Graduates, most already in debt, are asked to stake substantial sums on a practice-based course, often bereft of any guaranteed employment. A training contract is becoming more elusive and even when it is offered, the starting salary can be derisory. On the other hand, the tuition costs of the Ilex Postgraduate Entry Diploma (PGED) are a fraction of the LPC and the employment market is buoyant.
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The diploma is available to all qualifying law degree graduates and is offered as an alternative to the LPC. It is run over nine months from September and is entirely practice-based. Assessment is by traditional exams — this tends to suit recently qualified graduates — and all assessments are written and examined by Ilex. Completion of the course gives the student Ilex membership. He or she will then need five years “qualifying employment” before being able to apply for fellowship and become a legal executive. During this time they are very likely to be fee earners taking up pivotal roles for their employers.
So why are our universities keeping the Ilex option to themselves? Some law degree providers offer their own LPC courses and it would not be in their interests to proffer Ilex as an option. It may be that some are unaware of the Ilex route into the profession or it is regarded as a lesser option. To deny our law graduates the opportunities to explore all the options is a disservice to them, especially when some simply leave the industry when faced with the high costs associated with the traditional routes into legal practice.
There are compelling reasons why law graduates should consider the Ilex route. As trainee legal executives they have the same substantive knowledge as trainee solicitors. They enjoy better employment prospects and, in many instances, starting salaries are higher. Fellows of the institute are qualified lawyers and this can be achieved without the high costs associated with the LPC and the repayment of debt that could last for years.
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The author is the Ilex programme manager at Radbrook College, Shrewsbury
For more details on how to qualify as a legal executive: www.ilex.org.uk/howto_qualify/student.asp