‘I am ACILEx’: the much-needed professional status solution for paralegals and employers

02 March 2017

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) is calling all practitioners without a professional status to stand up, be counted, be valued and claim their Associate Grade (ACILEx) status. 

The ‘I am ACILEx’ campaign will encourage the many hundreds of paralegals in the UK to use their existing experience and qualifying law degree to reward themselves with, what is for many, a long-awaited professional status. As well as the designatory letters ‘ACILEx’, Associate CILEx members will be able to claim a defined set of competence standards, independent regulation and membership of CILEx (benefitting from its career and development services).

What does this mean for employers? 
Employers also benefit by re-presenting unregulated professionals as ACILEx. Hundreds of firms are looking for a solution that will attract and retain talented practitioners and develop paralegal roles in line with the needs of their legal business. ACILEx allows employers to reward individuals with a status that defines their competencies, helps them to progress and meets clients’ expectations.

CILEx chief operating officer, Linda Ford, said: “Many paralegals are happy, thriving and add significant value to both modern legal practices and to clients. Yet they often feel isolated and under-valued due to the lack of a recognised industry status. These demotivating factors can result in paralegals not settling in a firm, moving on or leaving the sector completely.

“CILEx employers already benefit from championing a diverse legal workforce but attracting, retaining and progressing talented paralegals remains a problem for legal entities, as we discovered during our 2015 Paralegal Enquiry. The ACILEx status can be awarded to many hundreds of paralegals, allowing them to be counted and accounted for in the legal sector, at long last.”

You, re-presented
From today, all qualifying professionals can claim their ‘I am ACILEx’ status. A bulk membership option for employers has also been launched. ‘I am ACILEx Employer’ status will help individuals and recruiters to identify employers who are committed to creating strong, diverse legal entities, thus helping businesses to attract and retain high quality professionals. 

“Our solution to the unregulated paralegal challenge is fit for purpose. The ACILEx status rewards and accounts for those already undertaking a valuable legal role. If you have a qualifying law degree and work in legal practice, you can join today,” said Ford.

CILEx believes in a strong, sustainable and diverse legal sector, which is why we’re offering both employers and paralegals a unique opportunity to stand out from the rest. 

I am counted, I am valued, I am ACILEx!