Is a chartered legal executive a lawyer?
Yes. A chartered legal executive is a qualified, regulated lawyer who can run cases in their own name.
There are 7,727 of them authorised in England and Wales. They are regulated by CILEx Regulation, they hold specific practice rights recorded on a public register, and where they hold the relevant right they conduct litigation, handle conveyancing or probate, and appear as advocates in court without a solicitor supervising the work.
The confusion is not accidental. A chartered legal executive qualifies by a different route — usually while working, without the requirement of a qualifying law degree — and the profession is younger, smaller and much less visible. 32% of the people on this register return nothing at all in a web search under their own name. If you have never heard of the qualification, that is why, and it is not evidence about the person in front of you.
The useful check is the same for any lawyer: look them up on the regulator's register.