Recognition & Regulation

Training & Accreditation

Support & Career Development

for non-lawyers doing legal work and

legal support staff

We are a not-for-profit professional body. we were granted institute status by the UK government in 2005, with the support of, amongst others, The Law Society of England & Wales, the Bar Council and Crown Prosecution Service.

Our Remit

Our remit is to:

• Assist people to join the legal profession as professional paralegals

• Provide paralegals with recognition and regulation, support, training and career development

• Assist paralegal employers to attract, retain and motivate the best paralegal staff by providing national competency standards; appropriate affordable training; in-house course accreditation; affordable recruitment services and expert advice and information on all matters relating to paralegals

• Help maximise client satisfaction by enabling practising paralegals to use nationally recognised quality-mark professional designations (i.e. Certified Paralegal and Associate Paralegal )

• Work with firms to help them professionalise and refocus their other support staff through government recognised LPQ (Legal Professional Qualification) qualifications; national competency standards for legal secretaries; affiliate membership of the Institute and appropriate affordable training

• Lobby government, the Legal Services Ombudsman and other relevant parties to improve the recognition, standards, careers and status of paralegals

About Paralegals

'Paralegal' is the term used to describe non-lawyers (i.e. people who are not qualified solicitors or barristers) who do legal work - regardless of their job title.

There are half-a-million paralegals in the UK, although most paralegals do not have that job title - they are referred to as administrators, managers, clerks, etc.

But regardless of job title, if you spend a significant amount of time applying, administering, interpreting, monitoring, enforcing or advising on the law then you may also be a legal professional - a paralegal.

About Legal Support Staff

'Legal Support Staff' is the term used to describe people who work in a legal environment (e.g. law firms, legal departments, courts, the police and many government departments etc.) who do not do legal work themselves, but support those who do.

The type of support varies widely, it may be secretarial, accountancy or post room support, or it may be business support: marketing, HR, finance, learning & development and the like. The common thread is that individuals work in a legal environment and so need to be aware of the legal, ethical, regulatory and risk management implications inherent in working in that legal environment.

Who We Are

We are an incorporated, wholly independent and not-for-profit professional body created to represent paralegals and legal support staff.

The UK government granted us institute status in early 2005.  Our application for institute status was supported by the Law Society of England & Wales, the Bar Council, the Crown Prosecution Service, Citizens Advice and others.

Although we primarily represent paralegals and support staff in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man and support staff in Scotland (Scotland has its own paralegal body: the Scottish Paralegal Association), membership applications from other countries/jurisdictions are very welcome. We represent and/or assist:

- Practicing paralegals

- People wanting to become paralegals

- Employers and other organisations working with paralegals

- Legal Support staff

- People wanting to become legal support staff

- Employers and other organisations with legal obligations/functions

Our role is to:

1. Help you to develop your skills (legal and otherwise)

2. Assist you in developing your career as a legal professional

3. Work with employers with paralegal and support staff

4. Promote professional recognition and respect for paralegals and

    support staff

5. Provide nationally recognised conduct and educational frameworks

Our members work in most industries, sectors and professions.

A few examples out of the many hundreds of occupations that require paralegal input are:

A few examples out of the many legal support staff roles are:

Our job is to work closely with employers, government, other professional bodies and academe to define and promote the professionalism of paralegals and legal support staff across all industry and professional sectors.

Our individual membership consists of men and women who are practising paralegals or support staff (regardless of their job titles) or who want a paralegal or support staff career.

Our corporate membership consists of organisations that employ paralegals and/or support staff, and who for a myriad of reasons, want to be kept informed of what is happening within the profession.

Regardless of job title and area of practice, all paralegals have one thing in common - they are qualified through education, training and/or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of the legal system and legal concepts. Frequently, but not always, paralegals do work that might otherwise be performed by a solicitor or barrister.

For support staff, regardless of job title and type of organisation employed by, all our members have in common a recognition that they work in a professional legal environment and that ethics, regulatory requirement, client expectations and not least the law, all require a higher standard of professionalism than would be the case if they were working in a non-legal environment.

Click here to join us today