A row has broken out in Canada over plans to give lawyers the power to regulate paralegals as the issue moves up the agenda in the UK.

A bill before the Ontario legislature proposes that currently unregulated paralegals come within the remit of the Law Society of Upper Canada - which covers Toronto - to the dismay of some paralegals.


The bill has been proposed by the Attorney-General of Ontario to ensure that consumers are protected when receiving legal advice from non-lawyers and have a wider choice of providers. Paralegals undertake a wide range of legal work in the province, such as advocacy services in lower courts and tribunals, and simple legal document preparation.


After initial reluctance to recognise paralegals as having a role in the legal market, the Law Society of Upper Canada agreed to take on the role.


However, in a statement, the Paralegal Society of Ontario claimed that the legislation 'will limit the ability of low-income women in Ontario, ethnic communities and the working poor to find affordable access to the justice system'. Calling for a system of self-regulation, it questioned where the line is drawn between what lawyers and paralegals can and cannot do.


A number of groups in the UK aim to represent paralegals, and the Institute of Paralegals has come to the fore of late in a bid to make its voice heard loudest.


Chief executive James O'Connell said meetings with the government had established little appetite at the moment for regulating paralegals, but 'we think eventually regulation will be required'. He pointed to non-lawyer employment, immigration, and divorce advisers as examples of freestanding paralegal firms that already exist in England and Wales.


Mr O'Connell said the institute was prepared to take on a regulatory role; the Law Society would not be the right body. 'By analogy, asking surgeons to regulate nurses never works,' he said.


Antony Townsend, chief executive of the Law Society Regulation Board, pointed out that it already has powers where paralegals are working under the supervision of a solicitor. However, he had no comment on whether the Society would want a role like its counterpart in Ontario.


The institute estimates that there are around 500,000 paralegals in the UK - defined as non-lawyers who handle legal work regardless of their job title - only 10% of whom work in traditional law firm environments.


Neil Rose