By Amanda Hamilton, Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP)
In the UK, paralegals are not subject to mandatory regulation under a single statutory framework. Solicitors are statutorily regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA), but there is no enabling statute within the UK Legal System giving the power to a single organisation to both regulate how paralegals are qualified and to monitor their conduct. This results in a grey area where consumers can become confused.
What’s in a name?
An individual cannot expressly describe themselves as a ‘solicitor’ (or even imply they are) unless they have successfully completed the prescribed training as directed by the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority and are named on the solicitors’ role (located on the SRA website), but there is no such requirement for paralegals. The result is that anyone can describe themselves as a ‘paralegal’; lack of formal paralegal qualifications or experience does not bar someone from claiming to be a paralegal.
However, there is one long standing membership body within the paralegal sector—the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP; established in 1987)—that offers voluntary regulation to its members. If a paralegal professional is associated with NALP, they are regarded as being accredited and validated by the only paralegal specific membership body in England and Wales. This means that their credentials have been thoroughly checked.
To help consumers find a suitably qualified paralegal who has been checked and has undertaken to adhere to voluntary regulation, there is the National Paralegal Register which lists all NALP members and their membership categories. Some, who are the most experienced, will have been granted a Licence to Practise enabling them to offer services directly to consumers and businesses, but only after strict checks have been undertaken.
Regulation for paralegals
There are no other paralegal specific bodies – NALP is the only one. It has always been a paralegal specific organisation and does not offer membership or accreditations for any other profession. Until very recently there was another paralegal membership body, launched in 2002, but that organisation has now closed. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) has a paralegal membership category but CILEx is the statutory regulatory body for legal executives only and has no statutory remit to regulate any other profession. However, a paralegal can join as a member of CILEx and will be bound to comply with their code of practice and membership rules and regulations.
If a paralegal works for a regulated solicitors’ firm, then they can be considered to be under the umbrella of the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority); the SRA regulates the firm and thus the paralegal should abide by the rules of SRA regulation.
Apart from this, there are no other paralegal organisations in England and Wales and no legal requirement for a paralegal to join a specific body, so the profession remains largely a voluntary, self-regulatory one.
Trusted qualifications
In addition to being a professional membership body for paralegals, NALP is the only Ofqual Awarding Body to offer bespoke paralegal qualifications. Paralegal courses are also offered by CILEx, but these are not Ofqual regulated.
Ofqual is the government body that regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. All Ofqual awarding bodies must adhere to Ofqual’s compliance regulations and confirm annually that they are compliant. This means that these qualifications have been checked and verified as being fit for purpose and are, therefore, highly regarded throughout the UK and the world.
How are consumers protected?
In the absence of statutory regulation, it is vitally important for a consumer wishing to engage the services of a paralegal to look for one that is a member of a recognised membership body such as NALP, because each paralegal is checked thoroughly before the appropriate level of membership is granted, after which the paralegals must adhere to certain codes of practice. There are various levels of membership matching the paralegal’s level of qualification and experience. This should instil confidence for any consumer as there will be recourse to NALP should there be a need to do so.
The future of paralegal regulation
There have been a few discussions in the last ten years or so about whether or not the paralegal profession should be statutorily regulated, but this has not been popular and has been rejected by the sector on the basis that there is already too much regulation. In 2018, Professor Stephen Mayson produced a report recommending some sort of regulation for the non-regulated legal service providers but there has been no implementation or further discussion since. The main objection has been that regulation will cause the fee structure of paralegals to increase for consumers. Therefore, while the sector remains voluntarily regulated, consumers can still attain access to justice at a reasonable cost; but consumers should look beyond the word paralegal as that title is not protected by law in the UK.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.
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