Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article

from sar Friday, February 23, 2007 - 01:42 (Agree/Disagree?) I don't know of any distance ILEX courses, but I know there are several evening courses in London which you should be able to find on learndirect. I would think twice about becoming a Legal Executive if you are already a qualified and experienced Legal Secretary. Many firms pay Legal Secretaries more than Legal Execs, depending on the field of work. I know this from experience. I considered going for qualifications via the ILEX, legal executive then solicitor route, but that's very lengthy and thought in the end that I would be better off quitting my job and studying full time. If you've lived in the UK for 3 years and have fully supported yourself, you would be elligible for a full grant. There are also several universities that offer 4 year evening law courses. If you want to fully qualify this would still be considerably quicker than doing through ILEX and you would be earning so much more when you finish. (reply to this comment)

From Snufkin Friday, February 23, 2007, 05:03 (Agree/Disagree?) I dont know about that... the legal executives in our firm get paid on par with solicitors (well young solicitors). Anyhow i have already started the course which is run through ITC ... a branch of Ilex. I am not a qualified legal secretary. I started the job as an office junior but was moved to secretary in about 3 months. I work for a partner now and am gaining experience, but still not really enough to comand a brilliant salary (though my next job should be ok). I am sure it is different everywhere but where i am they strongly suggested going for Legal Ex rather than secretarial or paralegal qualifications because they are far more widely accepted. Perhaps it is different in other parts of the country. I have practical reasons for not studying fulltime -- though i would love to. Its just not really an option for me right now, and anyhow i dont think i could get used to not earning anymore. A law course does not automatically guarantee anything though, you still have to take the LPC and then 3 yrs traineeship which are in HIGH demand. When we took on 2 new Trainees this year we got over 300 cv's in application. (reply to this comment)