CILEX Reform Agenda – FAQs

This consultation sought views from our members and stakeholders on the latest reforms as part of our 2019-2024 strategy.

The consultation identified a series of changes CILEX proposes to make to modernise our governance, to increase consumer awareness of and access to CILEX Lawyers and entities and to enhance trust and confidence in all CILEX professionals.

Our proposals include amendments to our governance, clearer professional titles that promote CILEX Lawyers as chartered specialists and a framework to recognise CILEX Paralegals as a distinct regulated profession.

The consultation also explained why we are considering delegating regulation of our members to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).  Our aim is to enhance public awareness, trust and confidence that CILEX Lawyers have equal standing to Solicitors, are held to the same professional standards and consumers benefit from the same levels of protection regardless of different routes to qualification.

We are also seeking to remove barriers preventing CILEX-entities from equal access to lender panels, banks, insurance and public contracts, enabling increased competition and consumer choice of legal services provider.

Importantly, the proposed changes protect the distinct identity of CILEX professionals and CILEX-entities with authorisation based on practice specialism and preserves our alternative route into law which is vital to supporting social mobility and ensuring the legal profession reflects the diversity of our society.

The consultation sought views on the following proposals:

• Extending member voting rights from only CILEX Fellows to all CILEX members.
• Creating a new suite of specialist Chartered Lawyer titles that make it clearer to the public that CILEX Lawyers with independent practice rights have parity with solicitor counterparts in the same practice area.

• Creating a paralegal standards framework and career ladder that offers the opportunity to become a CILEX Chartered Paralegal linked to a professional register.
• Establishing a new ‘legal technologist’ membership grade in preparation for an apprenticeship currently under development.
• Redelegating regulation of CILEX members to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

CILEX members will benefit from:

• Improved recognition for CILEX Lawyers as having parity with Solicitors to practice independently in their specialist area of authorisation;
• Increased brand profile for Chartered Legal Executives as CILEX Chartered Lawyers resulting in improved consumer and employer understanding of status and ability to offer specialist legal services;
• Increased recognition and enhanced career development for paralegals as a distinct professional group within the institute with the opportunity to obtain chartered status;

• Equality of voting rights and opportunity to participate in CILEX governance for all CILEX members regardless of membership grade;
• Ability to establish own entity with same access to lender panels, insurance, referral contracts, regulatory kitemark and compensation fund as solicitor-led firms.

Providers of legal services will benefit from:

• Removal of duplication and regulatory overlap arising from two different regulators having jurisdiction over employees in SRA firms through;
  • Aligned standards of conduct and practice for CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors;
  • Standardised set of processes relating to authorisation, CPD, complaint handling, enforcement and consumer protection for all those working in regulated firms;

• Clarity on comparability of the competence and scope of authorisation to practice of CILEX Lawyers compared to Solicitors;
• Entitlement to same recognition and access to market opportunities regardless of whether a Solicitor-led or CILEX Lawyer-led business;
• Ability to support career progression and retention of paralegals through professional development and recognition as chartered professionals and resulting commercial benefits;

Consumers will benefit from:

• Improved ability to access and understand information on the choice of lawyer authorised to provide legal services and to compare CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors specialising in each area of law;
• Increased trust and confidence through:
  • Clarity of equivalence in level of qualification and therefore comparable ability of CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors to deliver the same service by practise specialism;
  • Consistency of standards of conduct and practice applied to both CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors;

• Standardised consumer protection and redress regardless of which professional (CILEX Lawyer or Solicitor) or provider (SRA firm or CILEX-led entity) provides service;

• Simplified navigation of complaint handling with removal of need to engage with two separate regulators investigation and enforcement processes and the resulting confusion and delays where case involves CILEX professional;
• Increased access to justice through choice of either solicitor-led or CILEX Lawyer-led firm regulated by same regulator and to same standard.

The Case for Change outlines the four public interest outcomes that CILEX believes are essential for its model of delegated regulation. The regulatory body must be able to:

• Operate at sufficient scale to deliver efficient and effective regulation at a cost that is affordable for consumers and the profession;
• Establish and maintain consumer confidence that lawyers enter the profession through robust processes and maintain the standards expected of them by the regulator and the public once in practice;
• Create confidence of a consistency of approach that, for all regulated activities, every provider (entity and individual) in the market is required to operate to the same high standards; and
• Provide equal treatment and recognition of legal professionals regardless of route to qualification and provide equality of opportunity for individual practitioners and entities.

The evidence underpinning the case for change was independently reviewed by former CEO of the Legal Services Board (LSB), Chris Kenny. His report can be accessed here.

The CILEX Board carefully considered responses to the Case for Change received first from its current delegated regulator, CILEx Regulation Limited (CRL) and then from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The conclusion of CILEX’s assessment and analysis was that a change in delegation to the SRA is necessary to be able to fully achieve these public interest outcomes. This was reaffirmed following a public consultation on regulatory redelegation undertaken in 2023 and consumer research conducted in 2023 and 2024.

The SRA is an obvious choice in order to meet the demands of the modern legal services market as it already regulates 85% of CILEX professionals and sets the standards for the firms in which the majority work. It has the scale and the reach to provide effective independent and financially sustainable regulation for our members.

Around 75% of CILEX members work in SRA-regulated firms and are therefore dual regulated by the SRA as well as by CRL, a further 10% fall under SRA regulation by virtue of their supervision arrangements. Whilst CILEX conduct standards that are already closely aligned to those of the SRA there remain differences in how those standards are applied as a result of different individual regulatory regimes and powers of investigation, enforcement and sanction applying to CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors doing the same job. Importantly, bringing the regulation of CILEX members into the SRA will create the opportunity to give clients and others real clarity and confidence that, regardless of who does the work, the outcomes will be of the same high quality and the consumer protection arrangements in place will be the same. It is also in line with recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority to make it easier for consumers to buy legal services and views expressed by the Legal Services Consumer Panel regarding the need to support consumers in understanding and making informed choices about who can support their legal need.

For further information on the public interest benefits CILEX believes will be achieved by this change, please see Section 3 of CILEX’s 2023 consultation into the regulation of its members.

Consumers will benefit from:

• Improved ability to access and understand information on the choice of lawyer authorised to provide legal services and to compare CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors specialising in each area of law;
• Increased trust and confidence through:
  • Clarity of equivalence in level of qualification and therefore comparable ability of CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors to deliver the same service by practise specialism;
  • Consistency of standards of conduct and practice applied to both CILEX Lawyers and Solicitors;
• Standardised consumer protection and redress regardless of which professional (CILEX Lawyer or Solicitor) or provider (SRA firm or CILEX-led entity) delivers service;
• Simplified navigation of complaint handling with removal of need to engage with two separate regulators investigation and enforcement processes and the resulting confusion and delays where case involves CILEX professional;
• Increased access to justice through choice of either Solicitor-led or CILEX Lawyer-led firm regulated by same regulator and to same standard.

For further information on the public interest benefits CILEX believes will be achieved by this change, please see Section 3 of CILEX’s 2023 consultation into the regulation of its members.

The SRA has the scale and the reach to provide a financially sustainable model of effective independent regulation for CILEX members, providing enhanced levels of consumer protection and service (such as the practice guidance and ethics helpline) included within the annual practising certificate fee.

For the 85% of CILEX professionals who work in SRA-regulated firms or under the supervision of a Solicitor it will remove duplication and for authorised CILEX Lawyers it will ensure that there is consistency of standards, regulatory requirements (such as CPD) and powers of investigation and enforcement.

The SRA’s approach to authorisation provides the opportunity to remove current barriers to existing Chartered Legal Executives obtaining additional practice rights needed to secure CILEX Lawyer status.

Importantly, a model in which the SRA regulates CILEX members alongside solicitors has the ability to bring greater clarity and confidence to the market and therefore consumers that, regardless of who does the work, the outcomes will be the of the same high quality.

The opportunity to create a clear presence on the SRA website and through its registers can improve CILEX member visibility and raise public and employer awareness and understanding of the status and competence of CILEX Lawyers.

Regulation by the SRA also offers the opportunity to remove some of the existing barriers facing CILEX Lawyers including recognition in the workplace of their equivalent status and standing as authorised persons alongside Solicitors and access to lender panels and insurance provision for CILEX firms.

The LSB’s most recent annual regulatory performance assessment was published in March 2025 and can be viewed here. The issues identified by the LSB do not impact on CILEX’s Case for Change.

Both CILEX and CRL are committed to maintaining effective regulation and to ensuring any change would be carefully managed. Regulation through CRL continues as usual and CILEX members should continue to comply with the standards and requirements of the regulator including logging CPD and applying for practice rights authorisation.

No, a change of regulator will not adversely impact anyone studying the CILEX route to qualification (legacy or the CPQ) or anyone who holds an existing CILEX qualification.

CILEX is clear that any future model of delegated regulation must preserve the CILEX route to qualification and the distinct identity of CILEX Lawyers and CILEX Paralegals. CILEX membership will also be unaffected.

In its 2023 investigation report, the Legal Services Board confirmed that, on the core question of delegation, an approved regulator like CILEX “retains the power, in principle, to revoke its delegation to a regulatory body and redelegate its regulatory functions elsewhere”.

The core consideration is what is in the public interest. The Board of CILEX considered CRL’s proposals very carefully and objectively – the 2023 LSB investigation confirmed that CILEX had not “closed its mind” to the possibility of continuing with CRL.

However, on the basis of the submission received from CRL and that received from the SRA, the CILEX Board concluded that to achieve the public interest outcomes identified it is necessary to delegate regulation of CILEX members to the SRA.

We have been clear to the SRA that any change must retain the distinct identity of CILEX Lawyers and Paralegals both as specialists and the most diverse group of legal professionals, as well as the CPQ as the route to qualification.

The SRA understands this and clearly articulated within their response a commitment to ensure that its model of regulation and associated communications, website and branding will:

• maintain and promote the distinct identity of CILEX Lawyers and the CILEX route into the profession;
• explain how CILEX Lawyers are regulated by the SRA and set out what this means;
• use the phrase “SRA regulating CILEX Lawyers” as a strapline where appropriate to raise awareness of its role in respect of CILEX members;
• report on the regulation of CILEX Lawyers as a discrete category to allow comparison of data across the professions;
• confirm that CILEX Lawyers have the same competence as solicitors in areas where they have practising rights, and that this flows from their training, assessment, and competence, not simply from being regulated by the SRA.

The SRA already regulates the 75% of CILEX members who work in SRA firms and a further 10% who are supervised by Solicitors. Precedent exists in the legal world for two distinct professions to share a regulator – the Intellectual Property Regulation Board regulates both Trademark Attorneys and Patent Attorneys, and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers regulates Licensed Conveyancers and Licensed Probate Practitioners.

Outside of legal services the Health Professionals Council regulates 15 distinct health and care professions and the Financial Reporting Council regulates auditors, accountants and actuaries. In all these examples the professional identities of each distinct group is retained.

No. The specialist nature of CILEX members is at the core of what we do. This would not change if regulation were to transfer to the SRA. The SRA, in its submission makes it clear the education routes into the law offered by CILEX and authorisation based on practice specialism will be retained.

Yes. Both Solicitors and CILEX members will continue to have their own professional bodies – the Law Society of England and Wales for Solicitors and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives for CILEX professionals. Both CILEX and The Law Society will also continue to be Approved Regulators under the Legal Services Act.

The SRA will discharge those regulatory activities delegated to it by CILEX as required under the Legal Services Act and specified in the CILEX Scheme of Delegation.

CILEX standards are closely aligned to those of the SRA and the majority of members work for SRA-regulated firms, meaning they have to comply with its rules already.

The regulatory framework reflects the status established within the Legal Services Act that CILEX Lawyers with practice rights can operate equally alongside solicitors as authorised persons, the only difference being the general or specialist scope of their practising certificate and their qualification route. That will remain.

The Legal Services Act, in requiring independent regulation, established a model whereby the practising certificate fee is set by the regulator. Currently, this is CRL but this responsibility would transfer to the SRA if CILEX delegated regulation to them.

There is a requirement for all legal regulators to consult members each year when setting the fee, ahead of submission for approval by the LSB, and this will not change.

CILEX has never made any guarantees regarding the practising fee. That is, and will remain, a matter for the independent regulator.

No, under the proposals the SRA has confirmed that it will change its rules to recognise those firms who are led by a CILEX Lawyer. This applies to both existing CILEX firms who will transition but also to any future entities established by CILEX Lawyers.

There will be no need, therefore, for any change in governance or structure for existing CILEX entities and there continues to be the opportunity for CILEX lawyers to set up firms in future.  CILEX-entity will be a new category within the SRA’s framework and therefore CILEX entities will benefit from SRA regulation and access to its recognised logo scheme and associated access to lender panels, insurance, banks and approved supplier lists whilst still retaining their CILEX identity and structure.

CILEX conduct standards are already closely aligned to those of the SRA and SRA practice standards already apply to those CILEX professionals (both lawyers and paralegals) who work in SRA regulated businesses.

The regulatory framework reflects the status established within the Legal Services Act that CILEX Lawyers with practice rights can operate equally alongside solicitors as authorised persons, the only difference being the general or specialist scope of their practising certificate and their qualification route. We expect this to be preserved.

In 2024 CRL was given authority to grant Higher Rights of Audience to suitably qualified CILEX Lawyers. This authority will transfer to the SRA on redelegation.

No. The requirement to be a member of CILEX in order to authorised as a Chartered Legal Executive or CILEX Lawyer or to use the title CILEX Paralegal or CILEX Chartered Paralegal is established within the Charter and will remain under any new model of regulation.

If a transfer is ultimately agreed, both solicitors and CILEX members would continue to have their own professional bodies – the Law Society of England and Wales and CILEX respectively.

Yes, in 2023 CILEX undertook a consultation on reforms to its governance, membership structure and regulatory delegation.

The Enhancing Consumer Trust and Confidence consultation saw just over 1,200 individuals respond, with input from employers, consumers, CILEX members, professional bodies and the wider legal profession. CILEX also commissioned IPSOS Mori to conduct a poll of 2,237 members of the public.

You can read CILEX’s report on the outcome of the consultation here.

The CILEX Board met on 31 October 2024 and agreed to submit an application to the Legal Services Board (LSB) to seek to redelegate regulation of CILEX professionals to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We await further direction from the LSB on progressing our application.

CILEX is currently awaiting the LSB’s go-ahead to submit an application. Once a submission has been made, the LSB approval process will take 90 days.

We will communicate a likely timeline thereafter.

CILEX publishes its audited accounts and financial statements annually for consideration by members as part of its AGM every summer. This allows members to see the budget provided for the regulatory change and any costs incurred. The latest annual report can be found here.

As a chartered body, CILEX must lead by example. If we are to promote equality of opportunity and challenge the legal sector to become more diverse and inclusive, we must ensure our own governance and constitution reflects these values and offers opportunity without barriers.

In practical terms, this means ensuring that all members – regardless of their membership grade – have the opportunity to influence the work of CILEX. That is what the proposed changes seek to ensure by extending voting rights to all grades of member and to open up eligibility to sit on our Professional Board.

The role of CILEX President is the most senior and high-profile member of CILEX who must be able to represent the profession for matters relating to legal practice and policy. We believe the President must therefore be appointed on merit from our pool of Chartered members who have demonstrated they meet the highest standards in their profession.

Since obtaining our Royal Charter in 2012, CILEX Fellows have been permitted to use the protected title of Chartered Legal Executive (CLE). 

However, research shows that this title can confuse both clients and employers. CLEs are frequently required to explain their status as specialist lawyers, authorised to practice with equivalence to solicitors in a specified area of practice. Research indicates too that, to be effective in supporting consumer understanding, titles should be simple and use familiar language. Reflecting one of the stand-out features of the CILEX profession, members have previously shown strong support for making specialism more explicit in their title.

As a result, the consultation proposes simplifying the title awarded to CILEX Fellows on qualification to reflect their status as CILEX Chartered Lawyers (a term the public are familiar with) and to recognise the specialist areas in which Fellows are qualified and authorised, e.g. Chartered Property Lawyer, Chartered Corporate Lawyer etc. This will be simple for consumers to understand and make it more explicit that Fellows are lawyers along with solicitors and Barristers.

The regulatory title ‘Chartered Legal Executive’ will still apply to those Fellows who work in reserved areas but do not hold practice rights and therefore require the supervision of a Solicitor or CILEX Lawyer with practice rights.

• CILEX Chartered Lawyers/CILEX Lawyers and Chartered Legal Executives are entitled to use FCILEX.
• Trainee CILEX Lawyers (those studying on CPQ Advanced; CILEX Lawyer Apprenticeship; the Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice; or be a UK law graduate) are entitled to use MCILEX.

• CILEX Chartered Paralegals can use PCILEX.
• CILEX Paralegals can use ACILEX.
• Student members do not have the use of postnominals.

The term ‘paralegal’ has an incredibly broad meaning, applying to a significant number and variety of job roles across – and at the very edges of – the legal profession.

For some, practice as a paralegal is a stepping-stone on the way to becoming a Chartered Lawyer or Solicitor. For others there are many career opportunities in the law that do not require full qualification and authorisation and therefore paralegal is a career choice in its own right. Either way, it is vital for consumer trust, confidence and protection that high standards are demanded of those working as paralegals.

Whilst the current CILEX Paralegal standard provides a baseline competency, feedback from employers and paralegals themselves is that it does not offer a progression route or distinguish different levels of experience or responsibility.

The consultation proposes creating a career ladder of Student Paralegal, Paralegal and Chartered Paralegal, with standards aligned to job roles at each level. This will help providers and users of legal services to differentiate based on level of competence and experience and the Professional Paralegal Register will provide a searchable database capturing standard attained, practice area and regulated status.

CILEX Chartered Paralegals will be able to use the designatory letters PCILEX after their names, CILEX Paralegals can use ACILEX.

To attain CILEX Chartered Paralegal status, members must be able to demonstrate a minimum of five years’ experience working as a paralegal and meet the specified competency and conduct standards.

Evidence to validate the experience will be required either through employer references and case studies or a professional discussion interview with CILEX.

For those studying on a CILEX paralegal qualification the validation and assessment will be integrated into the qualification.

Whilst studying as a Trainee CILEX Lawyer there is the opportunity to apply for CILEX Chartered Paralegal status upon achieving five years’ validated experience working as a paralegal. You will be required to make an application and pay the relevant fees.

If successful, you will have a choice whether to describe yourself to clients and within your job role as either a CILEX Chartered Paralegal or Trainee CILEX Lawyer. In some circumstances you may choose to refer to both.

Legal technologists are an emerging profession involved in the delivery of legal services. Bringing enhanced knowledge and understanding of IT systems and technology, technical expertise and an appreciation of the law, they are supporting providers to innovate and adapt their business models and processes.

In the future, we expect to launch a new Legal Technologist apprenticeship and have therefore created a progression pathway within our membership framework for this new group of legal professionals.

Legal Technologist members will be able to use the postnominals LTCILEX.