NATIONAL COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR LEGAL ASSISTANTS AND PARALEGALS

10/11/08

 To: Local Law Societies


From: Institute of Paralegals


Date: 31st October 2008


NATIONAL COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR LEGAL ASSISTANTS
NATIONAL COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR PARALEGALS


Good afternoon,
This e-mail is to let you know about the above draft competency standards, and to invite you/your member firms to join the Standards Working Party creating them (or to request a watching brief).


Membership of the Standards Working Party is informal, free of charge and comes without any liability. A list of current members is at the foot of this e-mail. As you will see we already have large number of firms in other organisations involved in this project.


As we conduct our work via e-mail, having a large number of members does not present a problem: and has the definite benefit of ensuring that the standards reflect the professions opinion.


We do not hold meetings: drafts are circulated for comment. We understand that many of you are very busy and so there is no obligation to comment on drafts, and we won't be chase you for feedback.


Once published, the standards will be available on an inexpensive subscription basis. Working Party members/those with watching briefs will get a further discount. Corporate members of the Institute get the standards for free. To reflect the tough times we are all working in, we shall soon be launching a free corporate membership option.


Attached is a sample: the draft Intermediate Level standards for paralegals.


We also have draft Introductory and Advanced Level standards for paralegals, and draft standards (one level) for Legal Assistants.


The standards for legal secretaries are complete and have already been published.


We now have, or are actively working on, national competency standards for:


- Entry level legal secretaries
- Established mid-ranking legal secretaries
- Senior legal secretaries/PAs/supervisors
- Legal Assistants
- Entry level paralegals
- Established mid-ranking paralegals
- Senior paralegals/paralegal supervisors/trainee-solicitors-in-waiting


The intention is to have a set of standards covering all secretarial, clerical and fee-earning support staff, up to and including senior paralegals/paralegal supervisors wanting to become solicitors.


Our paralegal standards incorporate/map against the skills and competency requirements set out in the Solicitors Regulation Authority work-based learning project (see http://www.sra.org.uk/documents/students/work-based-learning/work-based-learning-handbook.pdf). Now that we have incorporated the SRA requirements, the Advanced Level paralegal standards can be used by both career paralegals and trainee-solicitors-in-waiting.


Legal Assistants


We have created a distinct set of standards for legal assistants. Of all support staff job titles, it is the one that has the fuzziest meaning. We have interpreted the role as being primarily clerical/administrative and sitting between executive PA and fee earning junior paralegal. Your feedback on whether we have got this right would be particularly welcome!


Legal Secretarial Standards
After much delay in getting the online registration process worked out with the IT company, and getting the qualification finalised with the national awarding body, we are happy to announce that the cheapest government recognised, national legal qualification is now available for registration (at a cost of less than £100 per applicant). Please let it know if you wish more information.


Thank you for your time
kind regards
James O'Connell
Chief Executive


Firms/organisations currently on the working party/with a watching brief:
NB: if your firm/organisation/members appears here and you were not aware of involvement, please contact us at standards@Instituteofparalegals.org or on 020 7887 1420 and we will tell you which of your colleagues we are liaising with.


Berrymans Lace Mawer
Blackburn Council
Blake Consulting
Bond Pearce
Charles Russell
Citizens Advice
Cobbetts
Compliance Recruitment
Denton Wilde Sapte
Dickinson Dees
Farrah & Co.
Fox Williams
Gide Loyrette Nouel
Guernsey Training Agency
Halliwells
Herbert Smith
HR in Law
Jacob's law
Kendall Freeman
Keoghs
Land Registry
Law Society of Scotland
lawnet
Lawsouth
Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Legal Education & Training Group
Legal Services Board
Legal Services Commission
Legal Services Ombudsman
Mayo and Perkins
Mills Reeve
Ministry of Justice
Morgan Cole
Norton Rose
Pinset Masons
Platinum Training
Police National Legal Database
Reed Smith
Scottish Paralegal Association
Shearman & Sterling
Shepherd Evans
Simmons and Simmons
SJ Berwin
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Taylor & Emmet
Taylor Vinters
The Law Society
Thompson Snell & Passmore
Thompsons
TLT solicitors
University of Lincoln
Weightmans
Wragge & Co.
end this as
Important
James O'Connell
Chief Executive

Institute of Paralegals
2nd Flr, Berkeley Square House
Berkeley Square
Mayfair
London W1J 6BD

Tel +44 (0)20 7887 1420
Fax: +44 (0)20 7904 3750