Overview of the role

Providing legal services to clients and colleagues.

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in organisations from small law firms to large corporates and public bodies, anywhere that offers or requires legal services. A Chartered Legal Executive can work in all areas of law.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to handle legal matters including giving legal advice. They will draft legal documents and may act as a Commissioner for Oaths. 

Depending upon which area of law they work in, Chartered Legal Executive lawyers may handle the legal aspects of a property transfer, draft wills, draw up documents to assist in the formation of a company, advise husbands and wives with matrimonial problems or clients accused of serious or petty crime. In the public sector they may work across a range of government departments whether in a local authority or central government. 

Chartered Legal Executive lawyers are fee earners. In private practice, their work is charged directly to clients making a direct contribution to the income of a law firm.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with members of their immediate legal team, legally and non-legally trained stakeholders and customers who use their services. They may also interact with government departments, financial institutions, regulators and professional bodies.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for managing a caseload of legal matters and providing advice to clients. The Chartered Legal Executive works unsupervised within their area of specialism.

Typical job titles include:

Chartered legal executive lawyer

Occupation duties

Duty KSBs

Duty 1 take instructions from clients, gather an understanding of client need and explain the risks and benefits of options available and proposed next steps

K1 K4 K6 K7 K8 K10 K12 K13 K21

S2 S10 S19

B1 B4 B5

Duty 2 set out legal research strategies, conduct legal research using a range of approaches and sources and provide analysis of outcomes to stakeholders

K1 K2 K3 K4 K25

S1 S3 S5 S11

B1

Duty 3 review and analyse documents and data to identify key facts and evidence and form judgements on the quality of evidence and any gaps or contradictions

K1 K2 K14 K25

S1 S4 S5 S11 S33

B1

Duty 4 apply findings from legal research to inform casework and decision-making strategies

K1 K2 K3 K4 K14 K21

S1 S4 S5 S6 S11 S31 S33

B1 B3

Duty 5 analyse and evaluate data and information to inform strategies and decision-making in legal casework

K1 K2 K3 K4 K14 K19 K25

S1 S3 S4 S5 S6 S11 S33

B1 B3 B9

Duty 6 make decisions in legal matters based on legal principles or the rule of law and within all legal and regulatory requirements

K1 K6 K7 K8 K14 K19 K21

S3 S5 S6 S7 S31 S33

B1 B3 B5 B9

Duty 7 provide ethical legal advice to clients appropriate to their circumstances and objectives

K1 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K12 K13 K14 K19 K21

S3 S6 S7 S12 S14 S27 S31 S33

B1 B4 B5 B8

Duty 8 communicate with a range of stakeholders including clients selecting the most appropriate approach and tools

K5 K6 K10 K12 K13 K14 K15 K21 K22

S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S12 S14 S16 S17 S19 S20 S24 S27

B1 B4 B5

Duty 9 present visualisations of data and information to communicate solutions to clients and stakeholders

K4 K12

S6 S7 S8 S9 S33

B1 B3 B9

Duty 10 draft and produce legal documents within a template format and bespoke

K1 K4 K5 K12 K15 K24

S8 S9 S33

B1

Duty 11 advocate and negotiate on behalf of clients in legal matters

K1 K6 K10 K12 K13 K14

S9 S13 S14 S15 S33

B1 B4 B5 B8 B9

Duty 12 undertake risk and compliance activities in regard to anti-money laundering regulations and due diligence and ensure compliance

K4 K6 K7 K9 K10 K14 K15 K16 K19 K21 K25

S5 S7

B1 B8 B9

Duty 13 undertake "Know Your Customer" activities to ensure that the service being provided is the most effective and appropriate to their circumstances

K1 K4 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K12 K13 K14 K15 K16 K19 K21 K22 K25

S2 S5 S7 S10 S12 S14 S17 S19 S20 S26 S27

B1 B4 B5 B8 B9

Duty 14 manage and apply financial information to caseloads to deliver outputs that are value for money and support customer or organisational objectives

K4 K6 K11 K16 K17 K20 K23 K24 K25

S12 S18 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S27 S28 S30 S32

B2 B3 B6 B7

Duty 15 manage caseload in line with organisational approaches and ensure commerciality of activities is considered throughout

K4 K6 K11 K16 K17 K20 K21 K23 K24 K25

S12 S18 S20 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S26 S27 S28 S30 S32

B2 B6 B7

Duty 16 source, handle and store confidential and sensitive information and digital data safely and securely

K4 K6 K8 K24 K25

S4 S5 S22 S33

B2 B6

Duty 17 deliver legal services using digital technology safely and securely to protect the organisation from cyber security risks and reputational harm with an awareness of benefits and risks to the organisation and clients

K4 K5 K11 K15 K16 K17 K18 K24 K25

S1 S4 S5 S7 S8 S22 S23 S24 S27 S33

B2 B6 B9

Duty 18 undertake legal tasks with commercial impact and resource management in view

K4 K6 K16 K17 K18 K20 K23 K24 K25

S2 S12 S20 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S27 S28 S32

B2 B6 B7

Duty 19 provide technical advice and support to technical and non-technical colleagues including peer review of case work

K4 K12 K13 K14 K15 K21 K23

S2 S5 S7 S12 S16 S17 S18 S21 S27 S29 S30

B3 B6 B8

Duty 20 provide legal services in line with Regulatory requirements regarding Ethics Conduct and Professionalism including working with regard to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

K1 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K12 K13 K14 K15 K16 K21 K25

S2 S5 S7 S10 S12 S13 S15 S17 S18 S19 S21 S22 S23 S24 S26 S27 S29 S31 S32 S33

B1 B3 B4 B6

Duty 21 maintain professional standards by undertaking continuous professional development activities

K1 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K12 K14 K16 K18 K21 K22 K23 K25

S2 S5 S7 S12 S13 S16 S19 S22 S28 S29 S30 S31 S32 S33

B1 B4 B6 B8 B9


KSBs

Knowledge

K1: law and legal practice and procedures of specialist area of practice as set out in CILEx Regulation Chartered Legal Executive Handbooks. Back to Duty

K2: approaches to research and information gathering including identification and selection of trusted sources and documentation. Back to Duty

K3: approaches to gathering, assessing and testing evidence to identify relevant issues. Back to Duty

K4: approaches to problem solving, analytical techniques and synthesis, including the use of digital tools. Back to Duty

K5: approaches to drafting techniques. Back to Duty

K6: the principles of customer service including the impact of diversity and inclusion, identification of user need and management of customer expectations. Back to Duty

K7: the principles of ethical and professional frameworks and their relevance for legal service delivery including the purpose of regulatory arrangements for personal compliance. Back to Duty

K8: the ethical issues and obligations applying to the provision of legal services, including legal rules and regulations, organisational policies and the CILEx Regulation Code of Conduct. Back to Duty

K9: the principles of legal and regulatory liabilities with regards to clients and business to ensure compliance with all professional obligations, for example, the provision of ethical legal advice in the best interests of the customer and Anti-Money Laundering obligations. Back to Duty

K10: best practice in relation to emotional competence when dealing with customers from different backgrounds, including vulnerable clients and the principles of unconscious bias and its effects. Back to Duty

K11: how the activities of a Chartered Legal Executive may contribute to their ‘professional carbon footprint’ and steps that can be taken to reduce it. Back to Duty

K12: approaches to communication, including use of clear language and the most appropriate media to communicate with different stakeholders and the principles of stakeholder management. Back to Duty

K13: emotional competence in communications with others, including respect for Equality Diversity Inclusion and vulnerability. Back to Duty

K14: approaches to formal and informal conflict resolution, advocacy and negotiation. Including, planning, preparation, strategy development, client expectations and risks to the client whilst behaving ethically and resisting pressure to condone, ignore or act unethically. Back to Duty

K15: approaches to building effective working relationships with third parties. Back to Duty

K16: financial methods and drivers operating within legal organisations including the purpose and principles of filing and recording systems and procedures. The principles of administering client accounts including the principles of time-recording and charging fee structures. Back to Duty

K17: approaches to prioritising workloads, caseloads and time management, to ensure matters progress without delay and files are managed in accordance with office practices. Back to Duty

K18: own organisation’s position in relation to different business models operating in the legal services sector, including an awareness of impact on organisations of commercial practices such as networking and marketing, developments in the legal sector and the wider economic and political environment and the principles of continuous improvement within organisations. Back to Duty

K19: principles of risk assessment, risk management and approaches to selecting the best actions for progressing matters. Back to Duty

K20: commercial drivers of organisations including time recording and billing processes for legal services. Back to Duty

K21: approaches to stakeholder identification and stakeholder management including the significance of external and internal stakeholders to organisations. Back to Duty

K22: strategies for professional development to ensure ongoing competence and good practice, including identification of needs, reflection, evaluation, emotional competence, and recognition of emotions and vulnerabilities in others. Back to Duty

K23: fundamentals of teamworking, coaching and mentoring Back to Duty

K24: approaches to digital technology, tools and software in the legal sector such as case management systems and drafting software for tasks including quality assurance of caseload outputs and storage, retrieval and analysis of data and information. Back to Duty

K25: legal requirements and ethical challenges relating to the use of legal technology in the legal sector, including risks to confidentiality of data posed by and to client’s actions, vulnerabilities to cyber threats and defensive measures. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: conduct and collate legal and factual research around all aspects of the matter, including case law, legal procedure, legal changes and documentation in a thorough, pragmatic and organised manner, using the full range of available tools and digital technologies, including assessment of quality of research sources and apply it to the legal matter in hand, to produce research notes. Back to Duty

S2: establish the clients' existing position, needs and expectations and identify needs that they may not recognise, utilising specialist expertise as required. Back to Duty

S3: identify the applicable law and procedures for legal matters. Back to Duty

S4: test and challenge information and data, establish evidence and evaluate its validity. Back to Duty

S5: analyse, synthesise, and evaluate information in different ways to determine how to act on client’s instructions and identify any real or potential conflicts of interest. Back to Duty

S6: interpret results, present findings accurately and apply these to the legal matter using supporting evidence. Back to Duty

S7: provide clear and unambiguous legal advice to clients and service users, including advice on the available options, the risks, the costs and the benefits of alternative courses of action, next steps and providing supporting evidence. Back to Duty

S8: prepare the necessary documentation on behalf of clients, draft and present legal documentation in line with professional standards including documents with bespoke content. Back to Duty

S9: select most appropriate method of communication and use accurate and suitable language in communication, both written and oral, to communicate to clients and stakeholders in a clear and impactful way. Back to Duty

S10: take accurate instructions relating to legal matters from colleagues and clients through use of interviewing skills, including effective listening. Back to Duty

S11: Identify where information is missing or in the hands of third parties and take steps to obtain it. Back to Duty

S12: communicate clear, accurate and practical advice to the client, including where objectives may be unrealistic and respond appropriately to manage clients' legal needs and engage others in the team and externally with the necessary legal expertise. Back to Duty

S13: represent and advise clients through negotiation and advocacy Back to Duty

S14: mitigate against conflict by managing underlying issues and mediate and manage conflict when it arises. Back to Duty

S15: negotiate outcomes on behalf of stakeholders to deliver the best possible outcome, taking steps to ensure agreement or compromise is reached which is clear, lawful and legally binding. Back to Duty

S16: build an internal and external network of contacts. Back to Duty

S17: take a customer-focused approach and build strong relationships with customer and third-party contacts at all levels. Back to Duty

S18: deliver legal services in line with customer service level agreements and commitments. Back to Duty

S19: identify steps to achieve customer's wishes or further their objectives and plan and implement progress steps. Back to Duty

S20: undertake ongoing communications with the customer to keep them informed and identify and communicate emerging risks. Back to Duty

S21: assist others in combining commercial and legal expertise to bring value to customers and the organisation. Back to Duty

S22: maintain filing and recording systems in compliance with organisational procedures. Back to Duty

S23: plan caseload and wider workload to meet deadlines and deliver outcomes for the client and the organisation. Back to Duty

S24: prioritise, plan and review progress and reschedule activities in line with changing priorities to meet changing client and business demands, in accordance with procedural requirements and legal time limits. Back to Duty

S25: contribute to the financial management of cases, including budgets, work in progress, timely billing and collection and variance recognition. Back to Duty

S26: meet quality assurance expectations within legal service provision. Back to Duty

S27: work collaboratively towards achieving customer and organisational objectives. Back to Duty

S28: manage own resource requirements, caseload and workflow, to objectives and budgets. Back to Duty

S29: support and advise colleagues on routine legal matters. Back to Duty

S30: contribute to a culture of continuous improvement including feedback mechanisms. Back to Duty

S31: using reflection and evaluation of own competence, recognise when the limit of technical competence and skills is reached and ask for support. Back to Duty

S32: agree and achieve own performance objectives and key performance indicators for personal delivery. Back to Duty

S33: Apply the CILEx Regulation code of conduct and related professional and ethical frameworks, including, representing information and data honestly, accurately, completely and confidentially whilst maintaining its security, contributing to a culture of data and cyber security ensuring that digital technology is used safely and securely and upholding ethical risk management and professional standards and escalating issues as required. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Ethical and Professional - Acts with integrity, impartiality and independence, demonstrates principled behaviour, follows rules, adheres to organisational and professional standards and manages risk. Knows limitations of abilities, refers technical work to others with the right expertise, admits mistakes and resists pressure to condone, ignore or act unethically. Back to Duty

B2: Efficient - Demonstrates the technical knowledge required for the role and uses their skills and experience to perform the job effectively, makes effective use of technology, delivers accurate and quality work and embraces new developments and ways of working. Back to Duty

B3: Analytical - Collects and understands information, analyses and challenges it, identifies issues, draws appropriate conclusions to solve problems and makes robust recommendations and decisions Back to Duty

B4: Customer orientated - Focuses on clients’ needs, listens to clients to understand their current and future needs, utilises specialist expertise, builds an internal and external network of contacts, meets customer's expectations, where possible and lawful, and delivers complete client solutions. Back to Duty

B5: Advocate - Acts as an ambassador to the organisation and legal profession, takes instructions and represents the interests of clients in the best way. Back to Duty

B6: Collaborative - Builds positive and trusted working relationships, respects the views and opinions of others, shares knowledge, deals with issues as they arise, works across boundaries, and makes contributions to the team. Back to Duty

B7: Commercial mindset - keeps up to date with developments and trends in the organisation and legal profession and combines commercial and legal expertise to bring value to clients and the organisation, demonstrates business/ commercial acumen, uses resources efficiently. Back to Duty

B8: Accountable - takes responsibility for their actions and outcomes from their work. Back to Duty

B9: Innovative - seeks innovative solutions to problems and challenges. Back to Duty


Qualifications

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.

Other mandatory qualifications

High Level Qualification

Any qualification approved by CILEX Regulator

Level: 6 (non-degree qualification)

Professional recognition

This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:

  • Chartered Institute of Legal Executives Regulation for Chartered Legal Executive


Additional details


Regulated standard

This is a regulated occupation.

Regulator body:

CILEX Regulation

Training Provider does not require approval by regulator body

EPAO must be approved by regulator body

Occupational Level:

6

Duration (months):

60

Review

this apprenticeship will be reviewed in accordance with our change request policy.

Status: Approved for delivery (available for starts)
Level: 6
Degree: non-degree qualification
Reference: ST0244
Version: 1.1
Date updated: 14/06/2023
Approved for delivery: 3 September 2015
Route: Legal, finance and accounting
Typical duration to gateway: 60 months
Typical EPA period: 1 months
Maximum funding: £27000
Regulated standard:
This is a regulated occupation
Regulator body:CILEX Regulation
EPAO must be approved by regulator body
LARS Code: 41
EQA Provider: CILEx Regulation
Employers involved in creating the standard: Wigan Council, Simpson Millar, Forbes, Irwin Mitchell, Fletchers, Ministry of Justice, Essex Law Ltd, Hemsley Fraser, Alph Legal Ltd, National Highways.

Version log

Version Change detail Earliest start date Latest start date
1.1 Standard, end-point assessment plan and funding revised 14/06/2023 Not set
1.0 Approved for delivery 03/09/2015 13/06/2023

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