Be a Paralegal
Who are Scotland's paralegals? The Precise Oxford Dictionary defines a Paralegal as “Paralegal – person trained in subsidiary legal matters”. Paralegals come from a variety of backgrounds including Law Degree students who for some reason either do not wish to do a traineeship or, as is often the case these days, are unable to find a traineeship, graduates from BA Law, HND Legal Studies and those who have come up “through the ranks” and who have gained a Paralegal Diploma by attending on a part time basis either at Strathclyde University who run courses in conjunction with Central Law Training or at Caledonian University who recently commenced Paralegal training this year in conjunction with Reward Training.
There is a commonly held myth that Paralegals can only work in private legal practice. This is not the case.
SPA has found that those who have experience of working in a legal office albeit in a secretarial or admin role who then attend training and gain qualifications are more inclined to find employment in private practice. The “High Street” Firms throughout Scotland have now recognised the value of Paralegals and are enthusiastically embracing the concept and recruiting in larger numbers particularly in the field of conveyancing. The larger legal practices mainly based in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been at the forefront of recruiting Paralegals for some years and offer a wider scope of roles in not only domestic conveyancing but commercial conveyancing, trust and executry, debt recovery and family law.
The draw back to working in private practice as a Paralegal is the glass ceiling where, without being a practising Solicitor, you will not be able to reach the top of the Firm by becoming a Partner. That said, times are changing and who knows in time a Paralegal may achieve this dizzy height!
Those who have gained qualifications ranging from Law Degrees to HNC Legal Studies or the Paralegal Diploma but have no practical legal experience find it more difficult to gain employment in private practice. Instead they should look at in-house legal teams of commercial companies, Local Government, Banks, Building Societies and Insurance Companies. They offer a wider variety of positions and a more structured career path often leading into a management role and unlimited opportunities to advance.
The current President of the SPA, Christine Lambie, works for the in-house Legal Team of an International Whisky Distillers and one of our Committee Members works in the same capacity for Shell Oil in Aberdeen.
If you would like any further details of vacancies for Paralegals see the Vacancies pages of this website.