CPQ Advanced Year 1

Course summary

Joining us on the CPQ Advanced Stage will enhance the skills you have built up across the Foundation Stage, focusing on areas including business awareness and your understanding of, and adherence to, professional and regulatory standards. If you have completed a CILEX qualification at a different level, please contact CILEX for further guidance. They will review your previous qualifications and may be able to offer an exemption that will allow you to enrol directly onto the Advanced Stage. 

During Year 1, you will undertake the first three academic modules of the Advanced Stage. After successfully passing the first year of study, you will be able to progress onto the second year of the CPQ Advanced Stage to complete the remaining academic modules for the Advanced qualification.  

All our courses are delivered via online synchronous learning, meaning that you’ll be attending real time classes online with our experienced, professionally qualified tutors. Courses also include some face-to-face revision and employability and networking sessions on-campus. We have created an interactive and stimulating learning environment in which you will work together with your classmates and receive in class feedback and support from your tutors. In addition, you will have access to the wide array of facilities and support that the University provides, including access to our extensive online library and careers service. 

The Advanced Stage aligns to the role of an advanced paralegal, who will be able to demonstrate technical knowledge and the practical application of law relating to key practice areas. The Stage consists of completion of four compulsory modules plus one optional module (5 modules in total, 6 exams) as well as completion of the CILEX Ethics and Professional Responsibility at Advanced Level and Advanced Stage Professional Experience portfolio. 

We run the Advanced Stage on a part-time, evening basis and cover the following modules in Year 1:  

• Criminal Law and Litigation 

• Dispute Resolution 

• Professional and Legal Skills (Succeeding in the Legal Environment and Legal Research)  

For the academic year 2023/24, we will be phasing in CPQ Advanced Year 1. Following this in the 2024/25 academic year, we will be phasing in CPQ Advanced Year 2 in order to allow students who enrol with us in 2023 opportunity to complete their CPQ Advanced Stage studies with us. 

Accreditation

The University of Westminster is a long-standing CILEX Approved Training Provider, having offered CILEX Programmes in excess of 20 years. We are only one of a handful of institutions to receive accreditation approval to run CILEX CPQ qualifications.  As such, when you enrol with us to undertake your studies, you can be certain of receiving rigorous and high-quality education and training. 

Who is this course for?

Unlike other routes into a legal career, a degree or equivalent qualification or experience are not a pre-requisite. The assessments are designed to assess your knowledge but to also allow you the opportunity to apply your knowledge to some client scenarios. 

As the Advanced Stage is the second part of the CPQ qualification, it is important to make sure that you are eligible to undertake this programme prior to enrolment. Please see the entry requirements section for more information. 

For any delegate enquiring about the University’s CPQ programme and seeking any information/documentation in an alternative format, please contact our team on [email protected]  

Course fees

The fee for this course is £2,160 for the 3 modules. The instalment plan consists of 50% at enrolment, 25% in December (due by Friday 1st) and 25% in January (due by Wednesday 31st). Contact us on [email protected] to find out more. 

In addition to our course fee, you will be required to pay CILEX a registration fee to cover the cost of annual CILEX membership, initial assessments and mandatory learning materials including the Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Professional Experience portfolio. Remote exam fees are also paid directly to CILEX. Please do not register as a CILEX member before starting this course. 

For full details of additional CILEX costs, please see the CILEX website: https://www.cilex.org.uk/study/apply_cpq/ 

Discounts and offers

We offer a 15% discount for organisations or companies registering two or more delegates on any of the CILEX courses. Offers do not accumulate.

How to claim your discount

Email us on [email protected] or call us on +44 (0)20 3506 9900. Please note that you must confirm your eligibility before booking. Discounts cannot be applied retrospectively.

Course structure

Below is the breakdown of the Advanced Stage modules you will study across the academic year: 

• Dispute Resolution – The aim of this module is to give you the essential knowledge and understanding of how disputes are resolved through the litigation process or through alternative dispute resolution methods. You will cover all stages of a case, from first considerations in dispute resolution through to enforcement of judgments following a trial. You will consider alternative methods of dispute resolution, taking into account the client’s wishes, together with the steps that can be taken to protect the client’s costs position. You will gain an understanding of how costs underpin the litigation process and be able to conduct the case accordingly. 

• Criminal Law and Litigation – The aim of this module is to give you, the trainee, the essential knowledge and understanding of criminal law and its end-to-end process; how in practice a case commences; its progress through the Criminal Justice System to conclusion. 

• Professional and Legal Skills (Succeeding in the Legal Environment and Legal Research) – This module is themed around Dispute Resolution scenarios and aims to develop the essential professional and legal skills introduced at Foundation Stage, helping you to progress your legal career. A successful legal professional is one who has the skills to increase both individual and team productivity and efficiency. The skills developed at the Advanced Stage will allow you to do this through the development of your interpersonal skills, appreciation of the importance of continuous learning and an increased commercial awareness. You will also consider the potential impact of technology on the role you perform and the legal sector. 

Course delivery

Students are welcomed to our Law School campus in central London in September for an Induction Day ahead of the start of teaching. The course will be delivered via blended learning and as such, you will be required to attend a small number of on-campus revision days throughout the academic year. 

During Year 1, under the supervision and guidance of experienced academics and legal professionals, you will study three Advanced Stage modules; Dispute Resolution, Professional and Legal Skills and Criminal Law and Litigation. 

• Dispute Resolution and Professional and Legal Skills will run by way of synchronous teaching via remote online live classes and is likely to be on Monday evenings but is not confirmed until the timetable is released at enrolment. Teaching will focus on sitting the exam as part of the CILEX June examination session. 

• Criminal Law and Litigation will run by way of synchronous teaching via remote online live classes and is likely to take place on Wednesday evenings but is not confirmed until the timetable is released at enrolment. Teaching will focus on sitting the exam as part of the CILEX June examination session.  

About the CPQ

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) launched its new qualification framework – the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) – in 2021 as the route to becoming a CILEX Paralegal, CILEX Advanced Paralegal or CILEX Lawyer. The CPQ is a single qualification made up of three elements: 

• Assessment of legal knowledge and skills 

• Ethics and Professional Responsibility eLearning modules 

• Professional Experience 

CPQ is a progressive framework across three Stages – CPQ Foundation, CPQ Advanced and CPQ Professional. Each Stage combines a focus on technical expertise and practical skills with the development of the core behaviours required to create forward-thinking, commercially minded, adaptable lawyers who really understand the clients they serve. 

Assessment

CILEX set the assessments/examinations for all modules and you will need to coordinate exam arrangements directly with CILEX. Students will undertake CILEX exams as part of the CILEX June 2024 examination. 

Entry requirements

It is important that you are prepared for Advanced Stage study and so you must either: 

• Have successfully completed and passed the CPQ Foundation Stage, including the Foundation Stage Ethics and Professional Responsibility module OR 

• Hold a law degree or equivalent awarded by a UK University 

For further guidance on the eligibility of other qualifications or CILEX modules that are not listed above, please contact CILEX directly to determine if they are sufficient for entry onto the CPQ Advanced Stage: https://www.cilex.org.uk/contact_us/ 

It’s recommended that students have an appropriate level of English before enrolling on the course so as part of the application process, we ask to see a copy of documentation to show that you hold GCSE English Language with grade C or above or equivalent qualification. Alternatively, you have the option to take the English Password Solo Test. The Password Skills Test samples of four language components, Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Please contact the Short Courses Team ([email protected]) with any questions or for further information about the entry requirements.  

Open Evenings

We are running 2 events this year, the first on Monday 31st July 2023, 6-8pm and the second on Wednesday 16th August 2023, 6-8pm. The Open Evenings provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions and find out more about our CPQ Foundation programmes. Please fill in this form to choose your preferred session and register.