Karin Williams - Nottingham High School 1955-1960

Legal Executives
This is a branch of the law where practical experience is gained at the same time as the theoretical side, an “earn as you learn” route, making a career in the law a possibility for people either unable  or unsure whether to go to university for legal studies.  The final qualification, Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (F.Inst.L.Ex.)  is the only qualification  other than a Law Degree considered by the Law Society for a person wishing to go on to become a solicitor.  A “Fellow” is referred to as a Legal Executive and is a specialist lawyer.  Training is done at a college either part-time day or evening, or by correspondence.  It averages  about five years to qualify and be admitted as a Fellow; the student would have by then passed all parts of the examinations, be at least 25 years old and have suitable qualifying experience.  They can be found in a variety of organisations and the work can  be  varied as they are often found as  legal managers involved in the day to day running of the department.   Legal job adverts frequently state “Solicitor or Legal Executive” required.  Advancement in most organisations runs side by side with the passing of the examinations and experience gained.  The pay obviously varies with the nature of the firm and the complexity of the work but a Fellow would expect to receive £25,000 + in most areas.

My own history is that having left school at 16, I worked in an office and gained shorthand/typing  qualifications.  Via a Secretarial Agency, I went to a local authority and stayed a couple of months, but was invited to apply for a permanent post.  This I did, and a couple of years later  a vacancy occurred for a Trainee Legal Executive.  The knowledge I had already gained prompted me to apply, and I was appointed.  There was a requirement that I attend evening classes two nights a week and  passed all the examinations and was able to apply and be admitted as a Fellow.  Although I have spent a little time in private practice, mainly to understand this area of working with clients, my area of law has always tended to be Local Government based.  This has involved everything from complex land transactions, writing reports to Committee, going out “on-site” with surveyors, representing  my employer at public meetings,  supervising and helping to train other  staff.  At  one Authority  I was in charge of the Conveyancing section of the Legal Services department and the salary was extremely good compared to private legal firms at that time.   Indirectly it helped me to become a Governor of a local College of Further Education, a  position  I held for nearly ten years.

From my own point of view, I left school not being very sure what career I wanted but ended up in a worthwhile, interesting job which was financially far better than I could have originally hoped for.

The Institute of Legal Executives is a national organisation  but it has many local branches and  members can become involved in  Branch activities  should they chose to do so.  This can not only provide a social outlet but a useful way of meeting people to discuss work problems.  Branches often organise local law lectures and revision talks for those still doing examinations.  

Anyone interested in the Institute of Legal Executives should contact ILEX at Kempston Manor, Kempston, Bedford MK42 7AB,    http://www.ilex.org.uk

Anyone wishing to contact me can do so through the Minerva Website.

Anyone seeking work experience in a Local Authority should contact the Personnel Department of the Authority concerned.  In my area that would be Nottingham City Council, The Guildhall, Nottingham NG1 4BT