Qualifying Employment

To become a Fellow of ILEX you must complete at least 5 years qualifying employment.  To be in qualifying employment you must be undertaking duties that are wholly or principally of a legal nature rather than of an administrative nature.  During your qualifying employment you must be employed either:

(a) by a solicitor or a firm of solicitors in private practice;

(b) by a Licensed Conveyancer or a firm of Licensed Conveyancers; or

(c) by any firm, corporation, undertaking, department or office where the employment is subject to supervision by a Fellow, Solicitor, Barrister or Licensed Conveyancer employed in duties of a legal nature by that firm, corporation, undertaking, department or office.

You can start your qualifying employment before, during or after your studies. Most ILEX students are either working in a legal environment at the time that they start their studies, or obtain employment as a trainee Legal Executive during their period of studying, and this counts towards ILEX’s qualifying employment requirements.

However the final two years of the five-year period of qualifying employment cannot be gained until you have achieved your academic qualification, i.e. become a Graduate Member of ILEX.  The final two years must also be consecutive.  This means that you can complete up to three of the five years qualifying employment concurrently with your studying.

Once you have completed your qualifying employment you will then be able to apply to become a Fellow of ILEX and use the designation ‘Legal Executive’.

Full details of qualifying employment.