“Positive” pass rate for new CPQ exam revealed following first sitting

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has published the results of its first CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) assessments, with 61% of students passing the first stage.

More than 230 students from across England and Wales sat the assessments in January, which make up the first step of the CPQ’s foundation stage. The foundation stage is the first step for school leavers, non-law graduates and professionals with no legal experience who want to become fully qualified CILEX lawyers.

The 61% of students who passed the exams will now go on to complete further assessments and practice experience, which makes up the rest of the foundation stage. On completion, they will qualify as CILEX paralegals and be eligible to transition to the CPQ advanced stage.

Having launched in February 2021, the CPQ is designed to produce uniquely qualified and specialist lawyers who have the skills to meet the changing demands of the legal profession. Both graduates and those who didn’t attend university have the chance to practise law at the highest level as CILEX continues to build on its core targets to improve accessibility, affordability and flexibility to the profession.

In terms of diversity, the results indicate no worrying discrepancies when comparing the pass rates of different ethnicities and genders; 61% of White candidates passed, while 58% of candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups passed; and 66% of men passed, compared to 60% of women.

CILEX CEO Linda Ford commented on the results: “These are positive results from our first cohort of aspiring CILEX lawyers who are benefiting from a new qualification that recognises that a successful career in the law requires more than just legal knowledge.

“Those passing assessments today have been successful in the first step of their journey towards completing the foundation stage and progressing to the next stage of the CPQ with both legal knowledge and skills, and practice-based experience. They are also benefiting from mandatory elements of legal technology, business skills and emotional intelligence – a first for legal training.

“CILEX is dedicated to providing an accessible route into the law, opening up the profession to make it more diverse and representative of the society it serves. The lack of attainment gap between White candidates and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups suggest that the CPQ is delivering on its equality objectives.”