Putting the 'par' into paralegals

Are paralegals the new underclass of the legal profession? That is effectively the question asked by the Trainee Solicitors Group as it released figures relating to the volume and type of contact recently received by its long-standing helpline.

Indeed, the group goes some way to answering that question in the affirmative.

The charge is a simple one: law firms - particularly in the mid-sized range - are exploiting paralegals by asking them to engage in the work of a qualified lawyer, while paying them a fraction of the salary.

Firms are also accused of unfairly holding out the prospect of a training contract to paralegals, while never intending to meet that promise.

Both are serious allegations levelled at a profession that promotes fairness and justice.

But is the problem as serious and endemic as the TSG figures suggest? With respect to the group, a more focused study needs to be conducted, which is what the current Law Society review of the training framework is designed to do.

It is also worth mentioning that the best route to ensuring fairness and respect for so-called paralegals is for them to qualify as legal executives and then to benefit from the highly organised and effective Institute of Legal Executives.

The term 'paralegal' is itself too vague, and ILEX is undoubtedly an efficient way forward for the many non-solicitors who are providing a valuable service to law firms and their clients.