CILEX CPQ receives regulatory green light

The CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) has been granted regulatory approval and is now open for applicants.

The CPQ enables students without university degrees to qualify as chartered legal executive, with CILEX committing £275,000 to fund up to 22 scholarships annually for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The CILEX Foundation’s targeted Lawyer scholarships, which are worth up to £12,500, will cover the training costs of becoming a fully qualified CILEX lawyer, plus eligible applicants will have the chance to network and learn from those who previously used the CILEX route. The scholarships will be eligible for candidates who are able to provide financial and circumstantial evidence that shows that they face barriers in accessing legal education and training.

Candidates who can enrol on the CPQ include young carers, those with a history of being in care and students with protected characteristics (eg, ethnic minority students), among others. The new qualification offers candidates a new approach to on-the-job training that marries legal knowledge with practical skills, behaviours and commercial awareness.

It provides students with the option to qualify as a CILEX Lawyer, CILEX advanced paralegal or CILEX paralegal. By not making a university degree or legal experience a pre-requisite, it is a more affordable way for aspiring lawyers to access the legal profession.

CILEX has always been a pioneer for the non-graduate route into law but this opportunity has opened the door to a legal career for those who may have otherwise considered it to be out of reach.

Professor Chris Bones and chair of CILEX looks forward to transforming the legal profession by “developing the brightest future talent from all backgrounds to make the UK legal sector more efficient, more representative and better serve society.”

For more information and for students who want to enrol visit the CILEX website.

For further information about the CILEX lawyer scholarship, visit the scholarship page.