Legal executive

Legal Executive job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Work varies according to specialism but typical duties include:

• litigation
• assisting solicitors
• giving legal advice
• researching and preparing cases
• writing legal documents
• High Court or county court work
• dealing with legal matters such as writing wills, property conveyancing, custody cases and divorce settlements.

Typical employers of legal executives

• private practice solicitors' firms
• local authorities
• legal departments
• industrial and commercial organisations.

Jobs are advertised in specialist publications including Law Society Gazette, Legal Executive and The Lawyer. Recruitment agencies occasionally advertise positions for qualified staff. TARGETjobs Law and the Law Society's regional directories can provide useful contact information for networking and speculative applications.

Qualifications and training required

To become a legal executive you must become a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX). This can be attained by passing the ILEX Professional Qualification in Law and completing a minimum of five years' supervised legal experience. You train while you work, through day-release to a local college, part-time working/studying or distance learning.

The minimum academic requirements for entry are four GCSEs at C grade or above, including English. At least three must be from ILEX's approved list. Candidates with law degrees are exempt from certain parts of the course or can choose to qualify through ILEX's Graduate Entry Diploma.

Key skills for legal executives

• independence
• team working
• organisation skills
• communication skills
• investigative skills
• negotiating skills