What is a CILEX Advocate?

It is understandable that lay clients and the general public have no idea what a CILEX Lawyer or Chartered Legal Executive is. There are many within the legal sector who do not know. When someone says lawyer in England and Wales, they think of Solicitor or Barrister. However, there are so many regulated lawyers in England and Wales:-

• Solicitors
• Barristers
• Chartered Legal Executives
• Trademark Attorneys
• Patent Attorneys
• Licensed Conveyancers
• Cost Lawyers
• Notaries
• Probate Practitioners

(click here for more information from the LSB).

Chartered Legal Executives started as Legal Executives under the Institute of Legal Executives and its Fellows had the designated letters of F.I.L.E.X. In 2012, they were awarded Chartered Status and Fellows were renamed F.C.I.L.E.X to reflect the they were a Fellow of CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives). A caveat was that they did not have the right to conduct litigation and required supervision.

Chartered Legal Executives, although undertaking the same work as their Solicitor counterparts, had some limitations. Some of these limitations have been removed over the years. They can now become partners of law firms, Judges and of course, the right of audience in the lower courts.

For the purposes of this post, I will only focus on those who practice in civil proceedings. Solicitors automatically inherit the right to appear in the lower courts. Eventually statutory instruments allowed Legal Executives to apply for right of audience in their area of specialism (civil, criminal and family).

Those who do not have a right of audience can still appear in limited circumstances in the civil courts. Where there are involved in the litigation and appropriately supervised can appear ‘in chambers’. This is something I did regularly both as a trainee and a Chartered Legal Executive.

So there were Chartered Legal Executives and Chartered Legal Executive Advocates (which many shorten to CILEX Advocate). However a further statutory instrument allowed the authorisation of Chartered Legal Executives to conduct litigation. In order to obtain litigation status, a Chartered Legal Executive must also have some right of audience in their field (either limited to in chambers or full open court rights of audience). Once a Chartered Legal Executive who practiced civil litigation had this status, they could conduct litigation and appear in the county court for all civil matters save for family without supervision.

So now there were Chartered Legal Executives, Chartered Legal Executive Advocates and Chartered Legal Executive Litigators & Advocates. I use the title CILEX Advocate when I appear in Court because it is shorter and more simple, however I am a Chartered Legal Executive Litigator & Advocate in civil proceedings. I have the right to conduct litigation unsupervised as well as appear in the County Court in all civil proceeding (save for family matters).

As one has to apply for such rights, the majority of Chartered Legal Executive do not have these rights. However CILEX obtained approval from the Legal Services Board to change how they train and qualify their members. This means that now any member who qualifies as a Chartered Legal Executive will now also acquire the rights to conduct litigation and right of audience in the county court. These will now be referred to as CILEX practice rights.

CILEX intends to use the phrase ‘CILEX Lawyer’ going forward for any Chartered Legal Executive who have CILEX practice rights in their chosen field. Some area of law do not require practice rights so they have been allowed to use the term CILEX Lawyers. This does not mean that Chartered Legal Executives who do not acquire CILEX practice rights are not lawyers. They are still regulated and recognised by the Legal Services Act 2007. The use of the term ‘CILEX lawyer’ is intended only to give a simple and clear indication that a Chartered Legal Executive has practice rights.

At some point in the future, it would be easier to be able to describe myself as a CILEX Lawyer when attending Court. However it is not uncommon for me to attend Court and be asked by an usher “Are you a Solicitor or Barrister?” and when I explain I am a CILEX Advocate (which is the easier way to convey I have the appropriate right of audience) I am regularly met with a confused look. There are many who know what a CILEX Advocate is, there are many who (as a result of my attendance) become aware of CILEX Advocates. One usher at the County Court at Bath was so interested he spent about 10-15 minutes discussing the matter with the District Judge before calling us in for our hearing.

As a result of being a CILEX Advocate in civil proceedings, I have the ability to attend any hearing in the county court, save for family matters. This includes trial allocated to the Fast track and Multi Track and County Court Appeals before Circuit Judges. Like Solicitors, I can appear in Chambers in the High Court and I can appear before a Coroners’ Court.

One of the advantages that a Solicitor still has over a Chartered Legal Executive is that a Solicitor can apply for higher rights of audience in order to appear in the High Court and above. CILEX Regulation undertook a consultation with its members and although the outcome of that consultation has not yet been published, it is clear that its members have indicated that they would be interest for CILEX Regulation to make an application to the LSB for the ability to give its member the ability to apply for higher rights. My understanding is that CILEX Regulation is intending to have an application to the LSB by the end of 2023.

So how did I end up as CILEX Litigator and Advocate?

I first decided to enter into law in my final year of my History degree which I was studying for at the University of Plymouth. I had no idea what I wanted to do but after being involved in some history debates (and taking the controversial and difficult position in the debate) I found an interest in arguing. I initially intended to undertake a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law (also known as a GDL) which would bring me to the same position as if I had undertaken a Law degree. I would then apply for the LPC and search for a training contract. However, whilst at a law fair, I spoke to a member from the law firm Lyons Davidson who introduced me to ILEX.

I started my ILEX studies in 2010 and by 2016 I had finished the qualification of Level 3 and Level 6 (as I had no legal qualifications). In that time I secured a paralegal role in a personal injury firm in Plymouth. I started in the ‘new client team’ taking initial enquiries, before I was offered the position as an assistant paralegal to one of the senior Solicitors of the firm. Eventually I was offered a role as fee earner with my own case load. In July 2014 I had approximately 100+ personal injury matters which were contested, either being a public liability or employer liability claim. During this time I undertook most of my own advocacy where the exemption in the Legal Services Act 2007 permitted me. This included Pre-Action Disclosure applications, Case Management Conferences and interim applications (including infant approval hearings).

Once I qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive I left my employed position and became a consultant, working on a self employed basis. Although I was supervised, I felt like I ought to have the appropriate practice rights to ensure I could work completed independently. In 2020 I applied to CILEX Regulation for practice rights. Due to the COVID pandemic, they were accepting digital applications, which was helpful. I sent this to CILEX Regulation who then approved my application.

Once I had finished my qualification with CILEX (which is what they were then called by the time I completed my studies) I was able to apply for fellowship. I had to put together a large portfolio demonstrating the range of work to ensure it met the relevant criteria that allowed CILEX to approve me to Fellow status so I could call myself a Chartered Legal Executive. As you can see below, it was a very detailed portfolio.

In order to be granted practice rights, I had to undertake a five day course on civil advocacy. It was one of the most helpful courses I had ever been on in my legal career. There is a difference in running a civil litigation claim through the courts and actually arguing the case at court. Suddenly my understanding of what a case needed in terms of evidence was widened.

I qualified as a CILEX Litigator and Advocate in civil proceedings in March 2021. I joined Quest Legal Advocates where I was able to join their qualified advocates team. During my time at Quest Legal Advocates I was able to undertake a wide range of hearings, including Stage 3 oral hearings, small claims RTA trials, fast track RTA trials, debt recovery and appeals. I also undertook my own advocacy in my consultancy practice, which included Holiday Sickness and Employer’s Liability Personal Injury Fast Track Trials and County Court Appeals.

These are the types of hearings that Solicitors can undertake (without additional qualifications) and Barristers are usually instructed to undertake. I know of many other CILEX Advocates who undertake civil trials like I do. I have had many Barristers and Judges advise me that my advocacy is of the same standard as other Barristers and Solicitors. One Barrister advised me that until I told her that I was a CILEX Advocate (post hearing) she didn’t realise I wasn’t a barrister.

Like our Cost Lawyer counterparts, CILEX Advocates are becoming more and more common in the Courts. If CILEX Regulation’s application to the LSB is granted, then we may start seeing CILEX Higher Rights Advocates.

Information

AJH Advocacy Limited, a Limited Company which is regulated by the Bar Standards Boards (entity number 190758), ceases trading on the 12th January 2026.

From the 12th January 2026 and onwards, Alec Hancock will practice as a Barrister at Magdalen Chambers in Exeter. For instructions on matters on or after 12th January 2026, please contact Magdalen Chambers via clerks@magdalenchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 01392 285 200.