What is the difference between CILEx and SRA?

In short: Very little.

Chartered Institution of legal Executives (CILEx) and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are both authorised and approved regulators under the Legal Services Act 2007 and are monitored and assessed by the Legal Services Board (LSB). Both produce qualified lawyers, just under different legal titles.

Unfortunatley for many, CILEx is not as known to the general public as Solicitors are. But things are changing.

CILEx

"Founded in 1892, the Institute of Legal Executives became a company limited by guarantee in 1963 with the support and co-operation of the Law Society... We work closely with Government and the Ministry of Justice and are recognised in England and Wales as one of the three core approved regulators of the legal profession alongside barristers and solicitors."

A Legal Executive in general, trains and specialises in one area of law. This can be any type of law they feel passionate about, however, it also means that they can only advise on that area of law. Much like training solicitors, legal executives train under a qualified supervisor, meaning their work is regularly checked and monitored.

SRA

This is different for Solicitors. As they train, they take what the legal community call "seats". A variety of "seats" are appointed to a training solicitor over their two year training period. Each seat will be in a different area of law, meaning they might train in one area of law for four months and then move onto another, and so on.

Conclusion

While neither are higher than the other, we at Goldsborough-Pike & Co. feel that learning your craft and tuning it, so you can become a specialist, is important to areas of law like Private Client advising. Where we deal with clients on a daily basis, we feel passionate about building a relationship with our clients and their families, which in turn helps us provide a detailed and comforting service.