Services of paralegals are in demand but who regulates them? - Amanda Hamilton

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’.

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.

NALP is the only paralegal specific body. 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.

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.

Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP).