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An alternative route

31 July 2015
Issue: 7663 / Categories: Features , Training & education , Profession
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CILEx examines why employers are embracing on-the-job training

The changing legal marketplace, rising university tuition fees and the sheer volume of law graduates vying for the ultimate prize, the training contract, has led to savvy graduates opting for an alternative route to qualification.

These days funding an LPC or BPTC is harder than ever and a large proportion of law students will unwittingly end up joining the ever-increasing “paralegal club” with hopes of career progression and one day, perhaps, a practising certificate.

A growing proportion of graduates are now considering the Graduate Fast-track Diploma route from the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) which leads to qualification as a chartered legal executive lawyer. This on-the-job qualification is a fraction of the cost of the traditional postgraduate options and develops a law graduate into a specialist lawyer tailored to the needs of their employer.

It’s not just graduates who see the benefits in the alternatives—employers do too.

Clive Thomas, managing partner at Watkins & Gunn Solicitors says that the CILEx route “provides an ideal opportunity [for

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gibson Dunn—London partner promotions

Gibson Dunn—London partner promotions

Firm grows international bench with expanded UK partner class

Shakespeare Martineau—six appointments

Shakespeare Martineau—six appointments

Firm makes major statement in the capital with strategic growth at The Shard

Myers & Co—Jess Latham

Myers & Co—Jess Latham

Residential conveyancing team expands with solicitor hire

NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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