International Legal English Certificates (ILEC)
English for your future: Cambridge ESOL certificates for the world of work
Cambridge ILEC — International Legal English Certificate
For any lawyer working with international matters, English is an essential tool.
It is the common language of the legal profession, of business and of international affairs.
Employers need to know that the legal staff they appoint have an appropriate level of English to be able to communicate with clients and professionals in other countries, and to be able to deal effectively with material written in English.
Those who have recently qualified as lawyers, or who are still studying, need to be able to show employers that they have these skills.
A high-level language qualification for lawyers
The International Legal English Certificate (Cambridge ILEC) assesses English language ability at Levels B2 and C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) — an internationally recognised framework which Cambridge ESOL helped to develop.
Is Cambridge ILEC for you?
Cambridge ILEC was created to meet the needs of both employers and lawyers. It is also suitable for law students intending to follow courses which include a significant English language content — either in their own country or abroad.
Do you...
- have a good working knowledge of English?
- want to develop this knowledge for use in a legal environment?
If so, Cambridge ILEC might be the right exam for you.
The exam
Cambridge ILEC is available twice a year, in May and November, through Cambridge ESOL's network of centres all over the world.
The exam consists of four separate papers testing reading, writing, listening and speaking, which together last just under 3.5 hours (not including breaks).
The Speaking test is conducted face-to-face by Cambridge ESOL Oral Examiners.
Cambridge ILEC is based on realistic tasks and topics that legal practitioners might expect to encounter in their daily working lives.
Results
Test results are normally reported approximately six weeks after the test date. Levels of performance in the exam are distinguished by a range of passing and failing grades.
The passing grades are B2 Pass, C1 Pass and C1 Pass with Merit.
All candidates receive a Statement of Results showing their overall grade and their performance on each of the four papers. Candidates who achieve a passing grade will also receive a certificate awarded by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
Support
As with all of Cambridge ESOL's certificates, there is a wide range of support available which will help candidates prepare for the exam.
Sample exam papers, handbooks for teachers and past papers are available from the Cambridge ILEC website.
Preparation courses for Cambridge ILEC are run in universities and language schools in many countries.
Online teacher resources are also available.
In addition, Cambridge University Press has published a Cambridge ILEC coursebook for students, which is authored by TransLegal. TransLegal is Europe's leading firm of lawyer-linguists providing online legal English courses, training in legal English and high quality translations of legal documents.
To register
To register for Cambridge ILEC, you need to contact an exam centre authorised by us to run the exam. Entries cannot be made directly to Cambridge ESOL. The centre will give you full information about the fees for taking Cambridge ILEC, the dates of the tests and other arrangements.
Many candidates take a preparation course before entering for Cambridge ILEC. If you are studying English at the moment, speak to your teacher about preparing for Cambridge ILEC. If you are not studying at the moment, your nearest Cambridge ESOL exam centre will be able to advise you.
If you have a disability or a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) it may be possible to ask for Special Arrangements to be made when taking the exam.
