--- title: Aspiring lawyer chooses CILEX over traditional route to qualification description: Amber Morgan speaks to CILEX about her journey and qualification as a CILEX Lawyer. --- Close [![CILEX ](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CILEX_Dec2021/images/cilex-cpq-logo.png?width=2953&height=341&name=cilex-cpq-logo.png "CILEX ")](https://www.cilex.org.uk/) ![Search Icon](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CILEX_Dec2021/images/active4.svg) Search ![Toggle Icon](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CILEX_Dec2021/images/menu55.svg) X - [About CILEX](https://www.cilex.org.uk/about_cilex) - [Employers](https://www.cilex.org.uk/businesses/) - [Education Partners](https://www.cilex.org.uk/education-partners/) - [Study](https://www.cilex.org.uk/study/law-career/) # Aspiring lawyer chooses CILEX over traditional route to qualification Published by [Millie Coletta](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/author/millie-coletta) on 13 Jun 2022, 11:51:32 ### *![amber-morgan-banner](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/amber-morgan-banner.png?width=760&name=amber-morgan-banner.png)* *Amber Morgan is a Family Paralegal at Evolve Family Law. She explains how she started her journey with CILEX and, with years of experience, she'll soon be qualifying as a CILEX Lawyer.*  My route into CILEX is quite unusual. I was following the more conventional route, having done an undergraduate law degree and then going on to do a Master's in family law and then the Legal Practice Course (LPC). I even managed to secure a training contract. But COVID hit and my training contract was dropped. At that point, I thought my chance of becoming a lawyer had gone. I applied for a paralegal role and at the interview my now boss suggested CILEX as an alternative route to qualification. I looked into it and jumped at the opportunity. She saw how much experience I had in family law and recognised that, alongside my qualifications, this would be enough to let me qualify through CILEX. To demonstrate the qualifying employment, I had to be able to show I had worked in law doing a job of a wholly legal nature for three years — basically fee-earning work as opposed to administrative tasks. It has still taken me 18 months because I applied to become a graduate member of CILEX when I had been working at Evolve for six months. Once you become a graduate member of CILEX you have to have one year of your qualifying employment as a graduate. So, after all that I am about to complete and submit my work-based portfolio. Assuming all goes well I will have achieved my childhood ambition of becoming a lawyer. I work in family law, which I find hugely rewarding. I work predominantly in children matters, helping people who going through a really tough time with issues such as child contact after a breakup, as well as international abductions. ![amber-mogran-quote-banner-1](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/amber-mogran-quote-banner-1.png?width=754&name=amber-mogran-quote-banner-1.png) When I've qualified as a CILEX Lawyer, I will be running my own caseload under the supervision of my boss, and really making a difference to people's lives. I'll also be able to progress my career, representing clients in court myself, and, if I want, to cross-convert and become a Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) solicitor. Being a CILEX member means that I’m part of a regulated professional body that sets very high standards in terms of professional competence ad behaviour. I also receive weekly newsletters with helpful tips about career progression and a range of other ‘lifestyle’ benefits including discounts at gyms – my husband particularly enjoys the discounted golf memberships! Although I was gutted that I lost my training contract, I think this has actually been the better and less stressful way. I describe CILEX as an unsung hero of legal qualification because it offers you flexibility and time to progress your career at your own pace. So looking back, I wish I'd known about it when I was at university because it offers much more flexibility in your career progression and puts you in control. I would really recommend it to anyone who is looking at a career in law. Tags: [Case Study](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/tag/case-study), [CILEX Stories](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/tag/cilex-stories) [Back to Blog](https://blog.cilex.org.uk) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ## Related Articles ## [Trainee CILEX Paralegal: Izzy Minor](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/trainee-cilex-paralegal-izzy-minor) Izzy Minor is a trainee paralegal at GRENKE, a multinational finance company specialising in lease... [Read More](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/trainee-cilex-paralegal-izzy-minor) ## [CILEX route provides more opportunities for experience to students](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/cilex-route-provides-more-opportunities-for-experience-to-students) Jordan Higgs is a Litigation Executive in the Clinical Negligence Department at FBC Manby Bowdler... [Read More](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/cilex-route-provides-more-opportunities-for-experience-to-students) ## [Meet Donna Carr, CILEX Paralegal and trainee CILEX Lawyer](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/donna-carr-cilex-paralegal) Donna Carr is a CILEX Paralegal at the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors. She's training to... [Read More](https://blog.cilex.org.uk/donna-carr-cilex-paralegal) ### CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) 2nd Floor, The Pinnacle, Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 1BP Incorporated by Royal Charter number RC000850 - - [CILEX Journal](https://www.cilex.org.uk/system_pages/quick_links/cilex_journal) - [CILEX Law School](https://www.cilex.org.uk/system_pages/quick_links/cilex_law_school) - [CILEX Regulation](https://www.cilex.org.uk/system_pages/quick_links/cilex_regulation) - - [About us](https://www.cilex.org.uk/about_cilex) - [CILEX Blog](https://blog.cilex.org.uk) - [Work for us](https://cilex.livevacancies.co.uk/) - [Contact us](https://www.cilex.org.uk/contact_us) - [Corporate Policies](https://www.cilex.org.uk/contact_us/corporate_policies) - [Terms & Conditions](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/terms-conditions) - [Privacy Notice](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/privacy_notice) - [Copyright](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/copyright) - [Accessibility](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/accessibility) - [Feedback](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/feedback) - [Sitemap](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/sitemap) - [Cookies Policy](https://www.cilex.org.uk/footernav/cookies-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Millie Coletta", "url" : "https://blog.cilex.org.uk/author/millie-coletta" }, "dateModified" : "2022-06-27T11:05:39.321Z", "datePublished" : "2022-06-13T10:51:32.000Z", "headline" : "Aspiring lawyer chooses CILEX over traditional route to qualification", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.cilex.org.uk/aspiring-lawyer-chooses-cilex", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.cilex.org.uk/hubfs/Logo_CILEX_White_Full.png" }, "name" : "CILEX" } } ```