SPA Membership Renewal
SPA Membership Renewal
SCOTTISH PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
Dear Member,
Membership renewals are upon us, and we would like to take this opportunity to update you on plans for this year’s SPA renewal cycle.
*This year, the renewal fee is £30 and the new member fee £35, but we are offering a discounted rate of £10 for those who, in these difficult times, are not in employment.*
As you know, we have been working closely with the Law Society of Scotland to develop not only a Registered Paralegal scheme, but also an on-line SPA database and portal for SPA members. We are delighted to report that after many months of hard work, the SPA and the Society are ready to “go live” with the SPA database and portal - it will be launched at our AGM on 18th April.
Christine, Karen and Alison have been heavily involved in the development of this project, and we have been very carefully considering how we can best roll-out the new online database for SPA members from 18th April 2009. We are confident that the roll-out will help all SPA members gain not only immediate benefits, but also a real insight into what the new Registered Paralegal portal will look like when it is launched using the same software. By the same token, rolling out an electronic SPA database and portal for all members is a big change to expect to be implemented immediately. This note intends to provide you with an introduction to how it will all work. However, we are delighted that a senior representative of the Law Society will present to us at this year’s AGM, to ensure you have everything you need at your fingertips to make embracing the change as easy as possible.
From 18th April the SPA web-portal “goes live”. You will be able to renew your membership online and over the course of the year take advantage of a dedicated portal for your personal needs, where you will amongst other things (which will be discussed at the AGM) be able to log in and even record your CPD online as soon as you have attended the course - so no more record cards which you have to keep manually and keep safe for a whole year! SPA and the Law Society would be grateful if you could register online in the weeks that follow the AGM. You should be able to do this in work if you have internet access, or you could wander into a nearby internet café.
It has been another interesting year with developments in the area of Registered Paralegals. Our members know that this is a scheme we have worked very hard on with the Society, and have liaised with the Government on. It is also something we simply could not have done without the support of individual members who responded to the original consultation and shared their views last year. The creation of an online SPA database and portal for our members from 18th April 2009 is the first phase of a more advanced future for paralegals in Scotland, and will set the tone for the roll-out of the online Registered Paralegal scheme itself, which we are hopeful will be rolled out in early 2010. Please show your continued support for the regulation of paralegals by renewing your SPA membership online this year after 18th April. If you think this will be problematic for you, the Law Society has agreed to offer its help, so please read the note on the reverse of this letter on what to do if you think you will be in this position.
And to conclude - as always we invite your thoughts. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any problems you would like us to address. If you have any feedback contact David Macdougall, SPA Administrator, The Law Society of Scotland, 26 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7YL (davidmacdougall@lawscot.org.uk). Your continued support is greatly appreciated, and the Association remains dedicated to working on your behalf.
Yours faithfully
David Macdougall
SPA Administrator
Sent on behalf of Christine Lambie, President
NOTE: WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A QUERY ABOUT ONLINE RENEWAL IN 2009
Firstly, you should note that a senior representative of the Law Society will present on the ease with which you may register online this year at the AGM on 18th April. Registration will be available from 18th April onwards.
If, for any reason, you think you will be unable to complete your SPA renewal online, please call David Macdougall of the Society’s Education and Training Department (0131 476 8173, davidmacdougall@lawscot.org.uk) and he will talk you through how the Law Society of Scotland can help. To give one example, we know that you may not be able to pay your membership fee online, by inputting your credit/debit card details through the World Pay (similar to Paypal) site, because your employing solicitor pays your subscription and usually sends a cheque to cover the fee.
If you think there will be a reason for you not being able to register online from 18th April, please do call the Society so that they may talk you through transitional arrangements we have this year. In the example given of payment, it is likely that you will be asked to complete the first two stages of SPA renewal online in order that we may capture your data, but that the Society will step in and manually complete the third and final stage (manual processing of cheque) of your registration on your behalf. You would bring your cheque to the AGM as normal in this situation.
Whilst next year we are committed to going fully “live” for 2010 renewals, we feel in 2009 it is important to represent the concerns of our members and have therefore negotiated with the Law Society that they will dedicate their resources to supporting SPA members who may encounter difficulties with online renewal this year.
Whilst we believe it is important to have negotiated support from the Law Society in 2009 to assist those who may encounter problems with online renewal, we are also aware that the Law Society has limited resources and we would urge all of our members to register online this year, where that is possible.