CILEX CPQ Qualification

CPQ Foundation

What do I need to join a course?

The CPQ Foundation Stage is open to all learners and has no minimum academic entry requirements.

Some learners may be eligible for exemptions from some or all of the Foundation units, particularly if they have previously studied with CILEX. To find out whether you may qualify for exemptions based on prior CILEX study, you can use the CILEX Exemption Tool.

You may also be eligible for exemptions based on other higher level legal qualifications. If you would like advice on your eligibility for exemptions, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

What do I need to study to complete the Foundation stage of CPQ?

All units below are mandatory unless you have exemptions.

Alongside your legal studies, you will also need to complete the Ethics and Professional Responsibility e-learning Module 1.

It is also recommended that you complete the optional* Professional Experience requirement at Foundation Stage. This provides an opportunity to develop and reflect on practical workplace skills, helping you gain valuable experience and work towards the membership grade of CILEX Paralegal.

What can I call myself once I’ve completed this stage of qualification?

If you complete all requirements of the Foundation Stage, you will qualify as a CILEX Paralegal.

A CILEX Paralegal is someone who has completed the Foundation stage of CPQ (including the Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Professional Experience requirements).

CILEX Paralegals are fee earners and can manage their own caseloads.

Although you can progress to the Advanced Stage without completing the optional* Professional Experience requirement, you must complete this requirement if you wish to achieve the membership grade of CILEX Paralegal.

Learners who complete the CPQ Foundation Stage assessments and Ethics and Professional Responsibility requirements, but do not complete the optional* Professional Experience requirement, will be awarded the CILEX Diploma in Law.

CPQ Advanced

What do I need to join a course?

Ordinarily, to begin the CPQ Advanced Stage, you must have successfully completed the CPQ Foundation Stage assessments or have been granted exemptions for all Foundation units.

Some learners may be eligible for exemptions based on previous study or qualifications. To find out whether you may qualify for exemptions due to prior CILEX study, you can use the CILEX Exemption Tool.

If you are unsure about your eligibility or would like advice on exemptions, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

What do I need to study to complete the Advanced stage of the CPQ qualification?

At this stage, you will begin to specialise in your chosen area of legal practice and develop the knowledge and skills needed to handle more complex legal work and case management. You must ensure that whatever you wish to specialise in at Professional Stage is covered at Advanced Stage by either a mandatory or optional unit.

You can choose to specialise in one of the following practice areas at Advanced Stage:

• Dispute Resolution
• Criminal Law and Litigation
• Property and Conveyancing
• Business and Commercial Law
• Family Law
• Wills and Probate

There are four mandatory modules

• Ethics and professional responsibility e-learning module 2 – done with CILEX
• Professional and legal skills (please note that the succeeding in a legal environment element of this unit must be studied either alongside or after the mandatory advanced dispute resolution or criminal law units)
• Dispute resolution
• Criminal law and litigation

Plus one optional module from a choice of:

• Property and conveyancing
• Wills, probate and private client
• Family law and practice
• Business and employment law

What can I call myself once I’ve completed this stage of qualification?

If you complete all of the requirements of the Advanced Stage, you can achieve the membership grade of CILEX Advanced Paralegal.

To become a CILEX Advanced Paralegal, you must successfully complete both the Foundation and Advanced Stages of the CPQ, including Ethics and Professional Responsibility Module 2 and the optional* Professional Experience requirement. As part of the Professional Experience requirement, you will need to provide narrative evidence demonstrating how you have applied knowledge from one or more of the six specialist areas of law within your professional role.

As a CILEX Advanced Paralegal, you will have developed specialist knowledge in your chosen area of law and the skills to undertake more complex legal work, manage cases, and support clients throughout the legal process.

You can progress to the Professional Stage without completing the optional* Professional Experience requirement at Advanced Stage. However, you must complete this requirement if you wish to achieve the membership grade of CILEX Advanced Paralegal.

Learners who complete the CPQ Advanced Stage assessments and Ethics and Professional Responsibility requirements, but do not complete the optional* Professional Experience requirement, will be awarded the CILEX Advanced Diploma in Law and Practice.

CPQ Professional

What do I need to join a course?

You may begin the CPQ Professional Stage once you have successfully completed both the Foundation and Advanced Stages of the CPQ.

To achieve practice rights in a particular legal pathway, you must choose the same specialist subject area at both the Advanced and Professional Stages of your qualification.

If you have already completed the LPC, BPTC, or an equivalent qualification, you may be eligible to enter directly at the Professional Stage. Alongside your Professional Stage studies, you will also need to complete the corresponding Advanced Stage specialist unit for your chosen pathway. Learners entering the CPQ at the Professional Stage are also required to complete both Ethics and Professional Responsibility e-learning modules from the Foundation and Advanced Stages to meet the qualification requirements.

What do I need to study to complete the Advanced stage of the CPQ qualification?

One mandatory module in Professional Skills.

Plus one optional module from:

• Dispute resolution
• Criminal litigation
• Residential conveyancing
• Commercial conveyancing
• Employment law
• Business and commercial law
• Family litigation
• Wills, probate and private client
• Immigration law

The optional module which is selected is where the learner will get their practice rights.

What can I call myself once I’ve completed this stage of qualification?

A CILEX Lawyer is someone who has successfully completed all requirements of the CPQ, including:

• The legal study and assessments required across the qualification.
• The compulsory Ethics and Professional Responsibility modules.
• The relevant Professional Experience outcomes (evidencing your Professional Experience is mandatory at the Professional Stage).
• A minimum of 2,300 hours of Qualifying Employment.
• A Work-Based Learning portfolio demonstrating the competencies required for qualification.

CILEX Lawyers are fully qualified legal professionals and can qualify with practice rights in at least one area of law. Specialist practice areas include:

• Dispute Resolution
• Criminal Litigation
• Residential Conveyancing
• Commercial Conveyancing
• Employment Law
• Business and Commercial Law
• Family Litigation
• Wills and Probate
• Immigration Law

As a CILEX Lawyer, you can build a rewarding legal career with recognised specialist expertise and the opportunity to provide legal services within your authorised area of practice.

Advocacy courses are optional for anyone on a litigation (family litigation, criminal litigation or civil litigation) pathway. If your role requires advocacy or changes in the future to do so, you’ll be permitted to apply for Advocacy rights by sitting the Advocacy course. Typically, such courses are a one-week, full time course, accompanied by an application and a portfolio of evidence.

CGQ – CILEX Graduate Qualification

What do I need to join a course?

A Qualifying Law Degree or GDL.

How long will the CGQ take me?

The CILEX Graduate Qualification (CGQ) is designed to provide a flexible route to qualification for law graduates. The time it takes to complete the CGQ varies depending on an individual’s prior qualifications, study pace, and work experience. Most learners complete the academic stage within 1–3 years, while qualification as a CILEX Lawyer also requires the completion of the required qualifying experience, professional experience and competency requirements. The flexible structure allows students to study alongside work and progress at a pace that suits their personal and professional commitments.

What is the course structure?

CILEX splits registration of the CGQ into 2 stages.

The CILEX Graduate Qualification Stage 1 is made up of:

• Either 2 or 3 compulsory Foundation modules (depending on route)
• 1 elective module at Advanced Stage
• 2 Ethics & Professional Responsibility e-learning modules
• Optional (but advised) Professional Experience

CILEX Graduate Qualification Stage 2

• A Professional Skills project;
• One optional Professional Stage module in your specialist area
• Mandatory Professional Experience.

Graduates begin their journey with CILEX by joining as CILEX Paralegals. Once they have successfully completed the CGQ Stage 1, they can progress to become Advanced Paralegals before moving on to the Professional Stage of qualification.

To qualify as a CILEX Lawyer, learners must successfully complete all academic and competency requirements, as well as 2,300 hours of Qualifying Experience and a Work-Based Learning portfolio. The portfolio can be submitted to CILEX Regulation once final Professional Stage exam results have been received, or as soon as the required qualifying experience has been completed thereafter. Practice rights, including litigation, are embedded within the CGQ framework, allowing learners to achieve these rights as part of their route to qualification as a CILEX Lawyer.

What will I study?

There are 7 potential career specialisms you can study towards via a CILEX CGQ course if you have a qualifying law degree or GDL. These are:

• Property and conveyancing
• Wills, probate and private client
• Family law and practice
• Business and employment law
• Immigration law
• Criminal Law
• Dispute Resolution

You can achieve these specialist lawyer career outcomes by following one of 3 graduate course routes, made up of a combination of units of study.

Overview of assessment

All assessments are completed online.

The CPQ includes Practice Rights within its qualification framework. To complete the CPQ and qualify as a CILEX Lawyer with Practice Rights, candidates must satisfy a combination of requirements, including:

• Successful completion of the required legal studies;
• Demonstration of professional experience outcomes;
• Completion of ethics and professional responsibility requirements;
• 2,300 hours of qualifying work experience; and
• Completion of a Work-Based Learning Portfolio.

Upon successful completion of the CPQ, the required qualifying employment, the Work-Based Learning Portfolio, and satisfaction of the relevant fitness and propriety requirements, an individual may be admitted as a CILEX Lawyer with Practice Rights in their specialism.

Legal Study/ Exams

The legal units become progressively more complex throughout the CPQ. As learners advance through each stage, the focus shifts from testing knowledge and understanding of the law to developing the ability to evaluate and respond to complex legal issues, exercise informed and reasoned judgement, and present practical solutions that meet client needs while considering wider legal and societal impacts.

The Professional Skills modules at the Foundation and Advanced stages each include two assessments. All other legal units are assessed through a single assessment.

A variety of assessment methods are used across the qualification:

• Foundation Stage: Six multiple-choice question (MCQ) assessments.
• Advanced Stage: Five assessments comprising a combination of MCQs and short-answer questions.
• Professional Stage: A Professional Skills Project and one essay-style assessment.

Assessment content is based on defined assessment objectives.

The table below illustrates the indicative weighting of the assessment objectives applied across each stage of the CPQ. These weightings are subject to ongoing review and refinement through assessment trialling and evaluation.

Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Ethics and Professional Responsibility is a core component of the CPQ and is integrated throughout the qualification. In addition to the ethical and regulatory issues embedded within the assessed legal and professional skills modules, learners are required to complete two standalone Ethics and Professional Responsibility e-learning modules provided directly by CILEX.

The first module is typically completed during the Foundation Stage and introduces the fundamental principles of professional conduct, ethical decision-making, regulatory obligations, and the standards expected of CILEX members. The second module is completed at the Advanced Stage and builds upon these principles through more complex professional and ethical scenarios. On the CGQ both modules are typically completed in Stage 1 of the CGQ.

The purpose of these modules is to ensure that learners develop a thorough understanding of the CILEX Code of Conduct and can identify, analyse and respond appropriately to ethical, professional and regulatory issues that may arise in legal practice. Ethics and professional responsibility are then further reinforced through assessments, Professional Experience requirements and, ultimately, the Professional Stage of the qualification.

Successful completion of both Ethics and Professional Responsibility modules is a mandatory requirement for qualification as a CILEX Lawyer.

Professional Experience

Professional Experience is assessed throughout each stage of the CPQ. Whilst completion of the Professional Experience requirements at the Foundation and Advanced Stages is not required to progress academically through the qualification, it is necessary to achieve the associated membership grades of CILEX Paralegal and CILEX Advanced Paralegal. For this reason, Brightlink recommends that learners complete the Professional Experience requirements alongside their studies at each stage wherever possible.

At the Professional Stage, assessment of Professional Experience is mandatory.

Professional Experience is evidenced through the completion of competency-based records submitted electronically to CILEX. Learners must demonstrate, through narrative statements and examples drawn from their work experience, how they have met the competencies set out in the CILEX Competency Framework. The framework defines the activities, behaviours, and underlying principles required to be a successful legal professional. You can view the competency framework here: CILEX CPQ elearning courses – Brightlink Learning.

Typically, learners are required to complete approximately 15 reflective narratives at each stage, with each response limited to a maximum of 300 words. The requirements at the Foundation and Advanced Stages are relatively straightforward, focusing on the development of core professional competencies. At the Professional Stage, the requirements become more detailed and demanding, reflecting the higher level of responsibility and professional judgement expected of a future CILEX Lawyer.

For each CPQ stage, the professional experience you submit can be verified by a workplace supervisor, provided that the supervisor is qualified and experienced enough to validate your work (“occupationally competent”) and has a supervisory role over you.

Qualifying Experience (QE)

To qualify as a CILEX Lawyer with Practice Rights, you must accrue a minimum of 2,300 hours of Qualifying Experience (QE). This experience can be accrued throughout your CPQ studies and must involve work that contributes to the provision of legal services, enabling you to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of a legal professional. The experience must be signed off by an authorised person, as defined by section 18 of the Legal Services Act 2007. If you hold the LPC or BTC, your QE requirement is reduced by 644 hours, meaning you need to accrue a minimum of 1,656 hours.

Work-Based Learning (WBL)

Once you have successfully completed the Professional Stage and accrued the required Qualifying Experience (QE), you can submit your Work-Based Learning (WBL) Portfolio to CILEX Regulation (CRL) for assessment.
The Work-Based Learning Portfolio provides evidence that you have demonstrated the professional competencies required to qualify as a CILEX Lawyer through your day-to-day legal work.
The Work-Based Learning Portfolio must demonstrate achievement of the eight Work-Based Learning competencies set out in the relevant CILEX Regulation Subject Specific Handbook. Learners evidence each competency using work that meets the Qualifying Experience (QE) requirements, supported by completed logbook sheets, documentary evidence and an explanation of how the work demonstrates the relevant competency. Throughout the process, learners must ensure client confidentiality, comply with data protection requirements and appropriately redact sensitive information.
Once completed, the portfolio is submitted to CILEX Regulation (CRL) together with the required application form, supporting documents, a supervisor reference and the assessment fee. CRL will either approve the application or request further information before making a final decision.

Advocacy (where required)

Learners who wish to obtain rights of audience must complete a separate advocacy authorisation process. This involves obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility from CILEX Regulation (CRL), successfully completing an approved advocacy skills course and assessment, and meeting any additional authorisation requirements.

CPQ Foundation

CPQ Advanced

CPQ Professional