Category: CILEX

In my blog ‘what is a CILEX advocate?’ I referred to the CILEX advocacy course. In my LinkedIn repost you may have seen Mike Winston quote part of the blog within his comment:-

For those who do not know, Mike is an advocacy trainer and was my CILEX Civil Advocacy tutor. My course took place in January 2021. It was due to take place in November 2020 but there as a limited number of applications so it was postponed. In fact, it is thanks to the CILEX Lawyers at NWSSP (NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership) that attended the course that it went ahead. It was explained to me that the NWSSP required it CILEX Fellows to acquire the practice rights to be promoted to certain positions. Fortunately for those CILEX Lawyers, the NWSSP offers to cover the course.

In fact, the NWSSP CILEX Lawyers originally joined the ‘chamber only’ course because that was the minimum required. However I think it was by day two of the course, most of them had discussed with the NWSSP about upgrading to the full five day ‘open court’ course. The advantage for the NWSSP CILEX Lawyers in having the open court rights meant they would be able to ‘appear before Coroners’ Courts in respect of all matters determined by those Courts and to exercise rights of audience similar to those exercised by solicitors and barristers‘ (click here for the civil litigator and advocacy handbook).

I cannot stress how fantastically informative the course was. I was always going to be undertaking advocacy (I had been undertaking chamber advocacy since I started fee earning) but I could not believe how much my knowledge and approach to litigation increased after the course. I was approaching my litigation cases in a different light. I would start to think ‘if I were going to appear as the trial advocate in the case, what evidence would I need to argue/challenge this point?’.

Of course, many CILEX Lawyers express they dismay that their employers would not cover the £2,000 course that civil, criminal or family Fellows would need to undertake (save for those who have appropriate exemptions, such as a BVC). CILEX Fellow who do not practice in either of those fields do not have to do an advocacy course and therefore a practice rights application can be significantly cheaper.

I am going to focus on why litigators should or should not apply for practice rights. For ease, I will focus on civil practitioners, but it should be broadly the same. I am also going to go in reverse and start with the cons of applying for practice rights

Cons of applying for CILEX Civil Practice Rights

You do not need the right to conduct litigation to work as CILEX Fellow in civil litigation

Remember when you started as a fee earner in civil litigation? You most certainly did not have the right to conduct litigation. You did so by virtue of your supervising Solicitor (or authorised person under the Legal Services Act 2007). That did not change when you qualified as Fellow of CILEX. You remained supervised and you could conduct litigation. Some may say “well, a Solicitor doesn’t need to be supervised” but the truth of the matter is all lawyers and fee earners are supervised. It is usually a requirement by the firm’s regulator to ensure standards and compliance are met. So even if you did obtain practice rights, you do not magically gain an improvement.

There will be times where having the right to conduct litigation will be required. For example, you may move to a law firm to start a department which they current do not have. Although you would still be supervised by someone in that firm, it might be better for compliance that you are authorised to conduct litigation. As above, the NWSSP required their CILEX Fellows to have practice rights. I do not know the exact reason why but I expect certain promotions require the Fellow to be able to conduct litigation without supervision.

Unless the law changed (and if it did, it would mean a large proportion of litigators would be affected) it is very likely you can remain a Fellow of CILEX and still continue to work in litigation without practice rights

As of 16th September 2025 when Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) was handed down, it confirmed the 2007 Act did not allow the right to conduct litigation by supervision. That means whilst a CILEX fellow can work in civil litigation, the can only do so in a supporting role/position. Therefore it is now a pro to the application.

CILEX will not allow you to use the term ‘CILEX Lawyer’ but you will still be a lawyer and a Fellow of CILEX

There was quite an uproar from CILEX members who were told they could not use the term CILEX Lawyer after a certain date, as that term would be reserved only for those with practice rights in their area of law (or if they worked in an unregulated area of law). I have to accept that CILEX probably could have dealt with this better.

Although they have since clarified, many questioned if CILEX were downgrading their status. CILEX were not. If you do not have practice rights then you are still a lawyer. You are still a Fellow of CILEX and you can call yourself a lawyer, or a Chartered Legal Executive or a CILEX Fellow.

I get what CILEX were trying to do. All members who qualify via the CPQ will have those practice rights. They will also have to undertake the advocacy course (if they are not exempt) and the cost of that will be incorporated. I think anyone who says a CILEX Fellow without practice rights is not a lawyer is a fool and has no respect for our legal system. There are many regulated lawyers and Chartered Legal Executive are and always have been.

There will come a time where Fellows with practice rights will become more and more prevalent.

Cost of the application and advocacy course

I think this is the biggest hurdle for many. It is one thing that one has to pay a £450 to have their practice assessed to be granted a certificate of eligibility, but then to pay up to £2,070 for the advocacy course is something that employers may find difficult to justify (especially if they have numerous CILEX fellows) and they are unlikely to want or need to exercise a right of audience.

It is most likely that the Legal Services Board made it a requirement that practice rights must include the right of audience in the lower court in their area of specialism, as well as the right to conduct litigation. It is far more for an individual do justify funding themselves.

I would hope to help justify the cost below which CILEX Fellows could use to help convince their employers to fund the course. I know many have asked why CILEX do not do it for free of their existing members who have been Fellows for many years. I revert to the LSB who no doubt make it a requirement and the cost of training and assessment by Altior is not something that CILEX/CILEX Regulation can do commercially without putting themselves in financial difficulties.

Pros of applying for CILEX Civil Practice Rights

Closer and/or equal standing with Solicitors

It absolutely should not need to be the case that a CILEX Fellow need practice rights to be on equal standing with Solicitors. CILEX Fellows do their job like Solicitors do. Most Solicitors do not exercise their right of audience and as above, they do not need the right to conduct litigation because all fee earners are supervised.

However it would increase our standing with Solicitors in the eyes of the legal profession. I once read a post where someone claimed CILEX Fellows should not refer to themselves as lawyers because the only regulated activity was that we were commissioner of oaths. Although this was a wholly misconceived and naïve view (as CILEX Fellows are legally qualified practitioners of law who are recognised by the Legal Services Act 2007), CILEX Fellows with practice rights would negate this view point.

I say this as a pro because it is, but it is an unnecessary pro. It would be fantastic if there was a magical application that would allow pre-existing fellow to obtain rights without all the hassle. Sadly there isn’t and the current position is down to how the Legal Services Board determine how CILEX members qualify and acquire practice rights.

Advocacy course will improve your litigation

We have a split legal profession compared with many other jurisdictions, such as the US. This means that usually that litigators do not get experience in Court and advocates usually do not get to experience litigation.

I was doing both before I obtained my practice rights (save for any open court hearings such as fast track trials) but until I attended the Altior CILEX Civil Advocacy course with Mike Winston, I had not realised how limited my knowledge and thought process was. Most of the NWSSP CILEX Lawyers on the course with me had no intention of undertaking advocacy and had initially signed up for the chamber only course (which was two days instead of five). Within the first day, many of them had discussed with their employer and arranged to continue with the five day course.

It’s because the trained we had truly made us think differently. We started to consider evidence, tactics and applied critical thinking in a way that we never thought to do so. We all learn from reading text books, undertaking examinations and we learn on the job. However there are somethings that we simply do not know from undertaking litigation.

For example, we were taught about how documents were being evidenced in a case. This is something I saw on Civil Litigation Brief about unevidenced documents being entered into a trial bundle (see post here). It included twitter posts from a Barrister and I couldn’t for the life of me wrap my head around the relevance of CPR 33, the Civil Evidence Act 1995 and how it applied to documents disclosed. During the CILEX Advocacy course I learned about evidence and then suddenly everything clicked. I now regularly make the challenge and I can successfully argued.

I wish I could detail how much the course has helped my litigation. I use the ‘good fact, bad fact’ fact management process when reviewing a case, something that is taught when preparing a case for trial. Mike would always say repeatedly ‘CILEX should make the course compulsory’. This wasn’t from a financial perspective. Nor was it suggesting that CILEX Lawyers are not appropriately trained – it was simply so effective of improving the litigation.

What makes it mind blowing is that Solicitors’ qualification has gone in the other direction. When a trainee Solicitor is on a training contract, they will undertake mandatory courses call a Professional Skills Course (PSC) and one of those courses is advocacy. They would have a three day course where they learn about magistrates trial, civil trials and applications before masters in the High Court. By comparison, the CILEX course is more intense as it will only focus on one area of law (civil, family or criminal). Following the introduction of the SQE, Solicitors no longer have to do this course.

There are now numerous ways to obtain practice rights, including in an area which is not your current one.

Initially there was a single way to get practice rights which was to send another portfolio, albeit it was much short than the fellowship portfolio (one could obtain just advocacy rights, but the downside is that the LSB require an advocate to renew their certificate every three years. If you have advocacy and litigation rights, you only renew once after your first year and then your certificate is permanent).

The three options are now the portfolio approach, the assessment approach or the training + assessment approach (click here for the link).

The assessment removes the need for a portfolio, you are simply assessed which is fantastic for those who would prefer to simply sit down and do an examination assessment. All three still require the advocacy course (which flows back to the cost con) but the third option opens an avenue that was not previously open to CILEX Fellows, being trained and obtaining practice rights in a different area of law. As long as you have been a CILEX fellow with 5 years experience working in the legal sector (that’s experience, not post qualifying experience) then one could undertake an online course over either 12-24 hours (depending on full or part time) and qualify as a litigator in another area of law.

One of the features usually raised is Solicitors can work in any area of law. They can, but they must still work within the knowledge and competency. A CILEX Fellow who has, for example, practice rights in Family could undertake the training to become a CILEX Lawyer with practice rights in Family and Criminal.

It is an option that at the very least is available. I am not saying it is cost efficient or something that people should undertake but the option to do so is fantastic.

…..to the future

One of the upcoming potential changes will be CILEX Regulation’s application to the LSB for its advocates to be able to apply for higher rights of audience. This will most certainly place CILEX on similar footing to Solicitors, Barristers and Cost Lawyers (who currently have rights of audience in cost matters up to and including the Supreme Court).

It is something that I may look into. I do not have any specific expectations or desire to be a Higher Rights advocate. The mere possibility is fantastic and it might be a slow and stead pace but we as a profession are progressing.

I appreciate my post does seem more con than pro. It’s not intended to be, I am a keen advocate (pun not intended!) of promoting practice rights to other CILEX Fellows. Rest assured that you do not have to and you should never feel obligated! You are a lawyer and no one can take that away from you.

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.

I remember the week I qualified as a CILEX Lawyer because I was due to attend the CILEX Graduation for my graduate status (so although I had qualified as a Fellow, who would wear the maroon/red gowns, I wore the blue gown). Everyone I spoke to had the same exhausted feeling I had when completing the ridiculously large portfolio required to apply for fellowship. You can see from the above photograph just how extensive it was. My practice rights application was, fortunately, a digital application due to COVID and was smaller in comparison.

On the 5th September 2017 I had finished my CILEX Fellowship Portfolio and I took a photograph before sending it to CILEX Regulation to be approved. I was fortunate for two reasons; (1) It was just around the time CILEX Regulation had managed to get their fellowship application consideration time down to four weeks and (2) I had my application approved on the first attempt (whereas many people I knew had it returned because for various reasons).

I still speak to people and I ask “are you waiting on your Fellowship outcome?” and their response is “I’m still working on it” with a single tear falling down the tear. It was over five years ago but I still give tips and tricks to those looking to apply for Fellowship (or CILEX Lawyer status).

Don’t leave it until the eleventh hour

I remember so many people at my firm who started putting together their applications when they were eligible and looking at the criteria and thinking “how on earth can I find something that demonstrates that”. It is so much easier to get hold of examples as you go along. If you are anything like I was, you would have handled 100s case over the two-three year period and recalling specific examples would be a night mare

I started collating my evidence the moment I obtained my Graduate status, because I knew I had one year before I would be eligible to apply and I made sure that it was ready so once that anniversary arrived, I could send my application.

Prepare a table or spreadsheet for each Work Based Learning criteria

Trying to prepare your portfolio without any plan or guidance will be overwhelming. Setting out a table with each learning outcome will make the process more bitesized. The relevant learning outcomes are in the work based learning handbook which can be found here https://cilexregulation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Work-Based-Learning-and-Qualifying-Experience-Handbook-1.pdf

Collate the evidence as you go

If you find an example, save it immediately. Whether you are doing a hard copy or a PDF version, do not leave it to chance. Quite often I will be walking my dog or in bed and an idea or thought comes to mind. I don’t record it somewhere and all I have is the memory of something important, but no clue what it was.

Organise your evidence

Do not leave a bundle of evidence examples without any clear indication as to what they pertain to. Use the table or speadsheet to write down what the evidence was going to be and label the evidence in some way. You can always change your mind if you find something that is a better example.

Redact as you go

Redacting is so much easier when you are preparing it digitally (if it’s a word document, use the highlight feature and use the black colour. You can then print as a PDF and the sensitive information will be protected). I think for many, the time consuming aspect was redacting.

Don’t be afraid to explain you cannot demonstrate something with evidence

Although you could not do this often, I recall one learning outcome was something I simply did not have evidence of and could not think of a way it would come up naturally. I set out why I could not evidence it but explain why I understood it. If you are sat there with one or two learning outcomes left because you don’t know how to demonstrate it, consider an alternative option.

Commit to completing your portfolio

The very nature of CILEX qualification means you will most likely be working full time. It is incredibly stressful trying to complete a fellowship application whilst working. There is no magic solution to the application. It will take time and it is so easy to put it off. What I did was commit to it. I allocated time during evenings and weekends to do my application. Even if it was only 30 minutes, 1 hour, any time meant that every day I had completed some work towards the portfolio, the closer I was to finishing

Remember – CILEX will tell you if they want more evidence

Although it was great that my application was approved first time, it didn’t mean my status of a CILEX Lawyer was any different to others. What it meant is I happened to have been able to provide the right evidence they needed to meet the criteria. However do not panic, the best thing is that CILEX will tell you if there are any particular parts of your application that need improving. They don’t just refuse your application and leave you to work out what is wrong, CILEX will actively help you to qualify.

You can do it!

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.

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.