Wards celebrates it’s Chartered Legal Executives … but what are they?
Wards Solicitors has always had a number of Legal Executives, working within local, specialist legal teams. With the royal charter recently granted to the Institute of Legal Executives, they are celebrating a change of name and status. But what does this actually mean?
A Chartered Legal Executive is a lawyer that specializes in a particular area of the law. Their day-to-day work is much the same as a solicitor's. Only Fellows of the Institute of Chartered Legal Executives may call themselves a Chartered Legal Executive.
Being a member of a chartered profession instantly marks a person out as being highly skilled, expert and well regarded in their field. Clients instructing such a professional are assured that they are dealing with someone qualified and competent, as well as someone with a proven track record for delivering a high-quality service.
So why not just use a solicitor? It's a common misconception that a Chartered Legal Executive is 'less than a solicitor'. Although they can go on and qualify as a solicitor, if they wish, studying to become a Chartered Legal Executive is a different career path. By studying 'on the job' they develop skills in specialist, niche areas. Far from being less qualified, they are often genuine experts at what they do, with many years of experience behind them.
Having chartered status demonstrates that they have reached a high level of qualification and have something that has required extra effort. At Wards Solicitors, we feel that demonstrates great integrity, which is an essential part of how we work with our clients. Importantly, in these days of unregulated Will-writers, in particular, we feel that a charter helps the public to distinguish between qualified and unqualified legal service-providers.
The Privy Council Office, which administers Charters says they are "reserved for eminent professional bodies or charities which have a solid record of achievement and are financially sound."
In short, when you see the Chartered Legal Executive title, you know you are dealing with a qualified expert in their field and an organization that you can trust.
Chartered Legal Executives:
Moving Home - Claire Blackman, Sharon Cawsey, Geoff Goulding, Liz Pople, Lydia Korn, Robert McDonald and Pandora-May Wheeler
Associates of CILEX
Relationship Breakdown - Sylvie Penwill
Wills and Mental Capacity - Sarah Woodward
Member of CILEX:
Relationship Breakdown - Laura Llewellyn
Licensed Conveyancers:
Richard Clement and Jenny Moody
Litigation Executive:
Sheridan Ferris