Legal executives fearing for their futures have been told they have few options but to go through the administrative and costly process to secure extra practising rights.

The seismic High Court judgment in Mazur in September reaffirmed the provision of the Legal Services Act that unauthorised individuals could not conduct litigation even under supervision in a regulated firm. That approach contradicted previous guidance and advice from regulators and professional bodies and called into question how firms had been operating – with implied permission but seemingly unlawfully – for decades.

Following the ruling caseloads have been removed from experienced legal executives by firms fearing they were breaching the LSA. There have even been reports of individuals being dismissed by firms which can no longer rely on them to conduct litigation.

Chartered legal executives had pinned some hope for clarification on a webinar on Monday organised by CILEx Regulation. The Gazette was not authorised to join the online conference, but it is understood that members were told that any legislative change or fast-tracking is unlikely in the short term. This position has since been verified by a CILEx Regulation spokesperson.

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Any primary or secondary legislative solution – perhaps extending the scope of the Legal Services Act – is ‘unlikely to be quick’, the regulator has confirmed. Oversight regulator the Legal Services Board is expected to report next spring on its review of regulatory guidance and advice.

Members had asked about so-called ‘grandfathering’ – giving legal executives transitional or exempt status to allow them to continue doing the work they had carried out for years in some cases.

CILEx Regulation has not completely ruled this out but said it is ‘not as simply as it sounds’, as any wholesale grandfathering arrangement would be subject to consultation, LSB approval and being able to demonstrate that there are no adverse impacts.

The spokesperson added: ‘As a regulator, we need to uphold standards and maintain public confidence. We mentioned at the webinar that we met with the CILEX Support Group and said we are willing to consider their suggestions for streamlining the authorisation process.’

The only realistic immediate option is to apply for independent practice rights, which are subject to a wait of at least seven weeks. People joining the webinar were told the different routes that are available - the portfolio route (costing £450), assessment only (£650), and training & assessment (£2,350).

One small bright spot was the confirmation that CILEX (the representative body) and CILEx Regulation will keep annual practising fees unchanged at £387. There had been a proposal to increase the fee by £16 to cover increasing costs, but that rise will be waived and the money drawn from reserves instead.