Legal executives are associated with different membership bodies and different rights according to geographical regions.
When solicitor firms started to grow in the 19th century, they increasingly relied on an ever-expanding number of clerks for drafting, copying, and organizing documents.
[4] In the 1950s and 1960s England suffered a shortage of solicitors when population growth unexpectedly exceeded the number of entrants into the profession.
In the Law Society's own words, ILEX was intended "to stimulate recruitment to the unadmitted ranks of the professional status ... and would offer ... a career with proper incentives".
Fully qualified members of CILEX in England and Wales are now therefore referred to as "Chartered Legal Executives".
The second and final qualifications are equivalent to an honours degree course - the CILEX Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice.
Appearance in courts requires a separate CILEX qualification to become a Chartered Legal Executive Advocate.
[9] Fellows (that is, Chartered Legal Executives) are also eligible to apply and compete with barristers and solicitors for appointment to certain judicial offices, such as the position of deputy or district judge.
To apply to become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute they must have a minimum of three years' practical legal experience.
Fellows (and other member grades) are required to maintain and improve their knowledge by undertaking CPD each year.
A CILEX Fellow who wishes to go on to qualify as a solicitor is usually allowed to forego the training contract aspect.
For this exemption to apply, they must have attained fellowship level by the time they complete the vocational stage of solicitor training, i.e. the LPC.
[12] They award Diplomas, Certificates in Professional Legal studies, as well as prizes and bursaries for students.
Whereas Legal Executives practising in England and Wales now enjoy certain rights of audience, in The Bahamas, Legal Executives may only appear before a particular tribunal or authority after the attorney-general has had consultations with the Bar Council of the Bahamas Bar Association.
Any person who is found to be guilty of pretending to be a Legal Executive can be liable upon conviction to a fine of B$5,000.00, or imprisonment for a period of three years, or both.