The Institute is a professional educational and examination body and offers registered financial qualifications in the legal sector throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The investment in each of our professional qualification courses is just £560, which includes all coursework and the examination fee

93% of our students responding to a recent survey said "Yes, absolutely" would recommend our courses to others. Nov 2022

"I would highly recommend taking any ILFM course, the support I have had to help me understand what I am doing better is outstanding. For someone who things don't quite click straight away, the way the course is set out helps me to understand things that much easier and if I don't understand, the tutor guides me through until I do."

 KC, Stafford Nov 2022

 

Professional qualifications in legal finance

The Institute provides a clearly defined career path to undertake studies and gain competency in legal finance and practice management. Our programme, listed below, has become the first choice for the industry: we are a registered foundation and our students are safe in the knowledge that, when they graduate, their skills will be relevant to their department.

Each certificate can be completed as 'stand-alone' or be used together to gain the Institute Professional Qualifications.

We run correspondence courses to support tuition for diploma and associate examinations. Our dedicated tutors help students with their coursework and provide guidance, advice and feedback. Correspondence courses offer a flexible option to fit around your working and personal life: you can study when you want and at your own leisure. Finally, we can help you check whether other relevant qualifications you may have entitle you to any exemptions from our examinations.

Your investment in each certificate is £545 and includes all your coursework and one examination fee. You must be a member of the Institute to study for our qualifications.

Diploma Level - ILFM(Dip) - legal cashier courses

This diploma suits those relatively new to legal finance who would like to understand more about the role of legal cashier and advance their career. The diploma qualification comprises two certificates:

1. Bookkeeping for legal finance professionals; and
    
2. Legal finance compliance and Accounts Rules.

Together these provide a sound, comprehensive and practical knowledge of how to maintain solicitors’ internal records and how to comply with regulatory Accounts Rules.

Students may apply for an exemption from the Bookkeeping for Legal Finance Professionals Certificate if they already have a relevant qualification. 

• Certificate D1 - Bookkeeping for Legal Finance Professionals 
• Certificate D2 - Legal Finance Compliance & Accounts Rules

Just £545 for each Certificate - All Inclusive of coursework and examination fee 

Associate Level - AILFM - legal finance qualification

Students who have been awarded the diploma can register for the associate qualification (AILFM), which comprises four certificates:

1. Accounting for legal finance professionals.
    
2. Financial management.
    
3. Tax for legal finance professionals; and
    
4. Legal practice management.

To gain the associate qualification, candidates need to pass both certificates 1 and 2 plus either certificate 3 or 4.

Candidates have up to 18 months to complete the coursework and enter for each examination, which comprises a formal three-hour, hand-written paper. Examination sittings are held twice a year: students wishing to take the exam locally will be required to pay any additional costs incurred.

• Certificate  AA -  Accounting for Legal Finance Professionals 
• Certificate  AFM -  Financial Management
• Certificate  ALPM -  Legal Practice Management
• Certificate  ATAX -  Tax for Legal Finance Professionals 

For the ILFM Associate qualification you need to have completed 3 Certificates. 

Just £545 for each Certificate - All Inclusive of coursework and examination fee 

All Inclusive Coursework and Examination Fee:  £560 (per Certificate)

You are given 18 months to complete the coursework and enter for the exam (each course can be completed sooner). Please check if you are entitled to any exemptions by holding other relevant qualifications. 

An exam sitting is held twice a year and is a formal 3 hour, hand-written paper - see Exams page for further information.

• Full access to online course material for 18 months.
• Dedicated Institute tutor, including one-to-one support.
• Access to students forum.
• Employer updates, if required.
• Individual study plan.
• Full access to online student resources.

• Dedicated Institute tutor, including one-to-one support.
• Sample examination papers and questions.
• Examination preparation session (format may vary).
• Exam preparation material
• Employer updates (if required)

• One Examination Entry Fee included (students wishing to take the exam locally will be required to pay any additional costs incurred). Formal exam sittings are held twice a year, the exams are 3 hour, hand written papers.
• You are expected to sit the exam either within the 18 months given or shortly thereafter

Fellowship - FILFM

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Fellowship is the Institute’s highest qualification, designed to test a candidate’s knowledge and ability to research and analyse a chosen subject within the legal profession. Admission is available only to full associate members who submit a thesis of between 10,000 and 15,000 words. Candidates may choose a topic from the Institute’s approved list or may request approval from the Institute for a topic of their own choosing which is relevant to legal finance or practice management.

In addition to the written thesis, students will be required to complete a presentation to a panel, normally at the Institute’s office. The presentation should last between 15 and 30 minutes and demonstrate their knowledge of their chosen topic. Following the presentation there will be questions from the panel.

Students who pass both the thesis and the presentation will be appointed fellows and can use the post-nominal designatory letters FIILM.

The investment for the fellowship qualification is £295.

Further guidelines and the approved list of topics are available from the Institute office. Please find more details of our membership, support, blogs and contact on our website.

CILEx Regulation Courses

In association with 

CILEx regulation accounts courses are designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge for accounts and financial management. They meet the requirements of CILEx regulation accounts, which are essential for managers in bodies regulated by CILEx regulation.

Level 1 delivers the core competencies CILEx regulation require, while level 2 builds on these to support commercial decisions and good financial hygiene.

Level 1 – this course delivers the competencies CILEx Regulation requires of all managers in an entity. 

Level 2a - this builds on the knowledge and skills gained from Level 1 to be able to support commercial decisions and good financial hygiene.

What qualifications do you need to need for law?

CILEx is an exceptional path to commence working in the field of law, allowing a different pathway to becoming a lawyer if you do not have a degree in law (or a degree at all!). The CILEx route is the equivalent of a law degree, so you graduate as a lawyer (or paralegal, or Legal Executive) the CILEx way.

England and Wales - Legal Finance Qualifications from the Institute of Legal Finance & Management

The ILFM is England and Wales' most respected training and membership organisations in the field of legal finance. Our experience and longevity of teaching, training and qualifying thousands of professionals, from legal cashiers to COFAs holds the ILFM firmly as the leading course provider and we are proud of our supportive membership. All our tutoring gives routes to a number of services and our education system is there to complement any academic path.