ILEX Home This seems like paralegal to me. However, these Legal Executives refer to themselves as qualified lawyers. Will any of the US State Bar recognize the Fellow of ILEX as attorney for bar admission purpose?
This may fly in England/Wales but I can't see the ABA accepting the foreign lawyer route. I wouldn't suggest going this route if you're outside of Britain and certainly if you wish to ever become an American lawyer (and even if you simply wish to be a paralegal).
I sprinted through that site and didn't see anything that actually required you to be an attorney. It seems like you could be a business management person (even one without a degree) who sets up a law firm, hires attorneys, etc. and still be a member of this organization. So my reading of the site is that membership entitles you to nothing. I don't even see that they do anything positive for their members so I really don't know why anyone would join other than to add deliberately misleading junk to their resume. This is not a shortcut to a law degree.
I took the two day exam back in 1990. If I remember correctly it was all multiple choice and there were seven different areas of law that you needed to know (four areas of substantive law and then three other areas i.e. corporations, etc.). The best thing I did was take a review course with a local paralegal association, got a study buddy to help review and studied up for about 2-3 months before taking the test. It's not as difficult as the bar but you've got to know your stuff. Good to hear from you again Sshuang.
Hi sideman, Thanks for your response. So you actually became Certified Paralegal before you pursued the JD. With all that law knowledge, you still didn't manage to pass the CA baby bar. Baby bar must be 100 times difficult than the CP exams. Regards, sshuang
You're killing me sshuang . The baby bar (and there's nothing baby about it) is essentially a one day bar exam. I tried to study for it, took a review course and did my second year of law school all in one year. Needless to say I was a tad overwhelmed. If I had it to do over again I would've simply not started my 2L studies and concentrated solely on the "baby" bar. Since I didn't pass it at least it doesn't preclude me from taking it in the future; which I may do one day. However, things didn't turn out as originally intended but they turned out okay. And as they say "that's the rest of the story".
Hi sideman, My intention was certainly not to offend you. I know the CA baby bar is no joke as I have taken it once myself. Since you have done both exams, I just wanted to hear what you have to say. Anyway, do you find Certified Paralegal useful? Regards, sshuang
No offense taken. I just wanted anyone else that viewed this thread to learn from my experience. Right now I'm a full time entrepreneur so I use the legal knowledge I've gotten to keep my business and myself out of legal problems. When issues come up that require current or specialized knowledge you can bet I'm on the phone to my attorney. The certification is a backup plan and is what I might do when I semi-retire if there is such a thing. Best regards.
The Institute of Legal Executives provide training for legal support staff (non degree holders) that would be recognized and respected in the UK legal community. They are actually recognised by the UK Judicial Appointments Commission
Yes, indeed. No shortcuts. The programs offered are for paralegal and other legal support staff, not lawyers/attorneys.
Thanks for all of the responses. So what does "qualified lawyer" actually mean? Is it the same as attorney? ELA :: Definitions - Qualified Lawyer
ILEX - setting the record straight First of all it is great to see so much interest in ILEX from international aspiring lawyers. Sadly though, as some of you rightly have spotted, ILEX is only worthwhile if you are planning on working in England and Wales. We do however need to clarify some points though, as I'm sure it will help you understand the legal sector in England and Wales a bit more. You may not actually need this info in your line of work, but you never know. First of all, a very brief lesson on English, and arguable the oldest from of, Lawyers. Lawyers is used to describe a certain level of legal experts. There are several branches but the three main branches are Barristers, Legal Executives and Solicitors. The top three all have different roles, responsibilities and powers but they are all as respected as each other. OK so not onto The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX). Our members are very well looked after by our organisation. If you take time to read the history of ILEX (About ILEX) you can see we are not just an overnight set up. We currently have 22,000 members and ILEX Fellows can be partners, advocates and also judges. In England and Wales it is written in law that you must be highly qualified to be any of these and a law firm can’t just be set up by anyone in this country. You have to be qualified in law to do so. Legal Executive lawyers have to complete four years of tough studying, with five years of qualifying employment before they can graduate. That would be a lot of effort for someone who just wants to fill their ‘resume’ with ‘misleading junk’. One final point, we would certainly agree that taking the ILEX route is not a short cut to a degree. While the quote above probably meant this to be an insult, we take it as a compliment. If you consider that ILEX allows aspiring lawyers from all backgrounds to have a very successful career in law through vocational means, then this is at least an alternative to a degree in law. Some might even argue it is harder. Many ILEX students are holding down a full time job, raising a family or balancing many other priorities while studying. Of course, I appreciate this is a forum in the US and that ILEX will still may not be suitable for you, but it is worth setting the record straight as I am certain that many of you will be interested to know about us anyway. Good luck with your studies, whatever they may be.
Hi ILEXLawyers, Thanks for sharing the info. I have few questions for you. 1. Can the ILEX coursework be completed entirely online? 2. Are there any exam sites in the US? 3. Does the law work experience in the US qualify? Thanks sshuang
I like the way England and Wales is set up in regards to their interpretation of the word "lawyer". Unlike the U.S., which says that unless you passed the bar you cannot refer to yourself as a lawyer, they use the word interchangeably for all legal professionals. Certainly anyone that works with the law is a "lawyer" just not necessarily a licensed attorney or esquire. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., if you refer to yourself as a lawyer everyone assumes you are a licensed attorney.
First I'd say that there's not really "so much interest," it seems to me that it's just one guy asking a question. Second, you can play the semantics game of "What's the definition of 'lawyer'" but since this is a US-based discussion board most of the people here will use the US definition. Being a US paralegal and joining an organization that allows you to refer to yourself as a lawyer based on a non-US definition would seem to be deliberately misleading. Finally I've just got to say that I'm really not sure why the official representative of a professional organization feels the need to remain anonymous while discussing the details of their organization. It just makes it seem a bit shady.