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I am of a mixed mind as well on this.

I do not necessarily see it as a dumbing down but it depends on how this is handled. The problem is that it would need to be handled carefully and I do not trust the SRA/LS to do so.

For my part, I went to University and obtained my LLB, deciding part way through to not work in law. I then had difficulties getting a job after University and eventually got a receptionist job in a law firm and from there progressed to legal secretary and eventually was put through the LPC and TC to qualify.

I have been around trainees and paralegals. Part of the problem is that different firms have different definitions of paralegals. In one firm a paralegal is not much different to a legal secretary albeit may deal with some parts of matters or draft some documents themselves. In other firms paralegals are full time fee earners with their own caseload and are only called paralegals as they do not have a professional title to their name.

Those full time fee earner paralegals who can be very experienced I would have no issue with, if they have the qualifications needed, being admitted. The problem is those who do not but have the same title.

I undertook my LPC part time and on the course the majority of the students were on the part time course as they were working full time in legal practice, whether as a legal executive, paralegal, legal secretary, trainee solicitor or some other form. I remember one of the lecturers saying how much nicer it was teaching the part time cohort as most of the full time students, most of whom had gone straight from school to university and to the LPC with no real world experience, could not even do simple tasks like write a letter to a client (not for lack of legal knowledge but for lack of actually knowing how to address and converse in writing).

It is those who then do not get any real training when they get a paralegal job who should not be allowed to qualify as it is dangerous.

As an aside, I do wish someone had mentioned to me when I was thinking of university that ILEX existed. Working in practice whilst studying under the ILEX seems a much better system than being taught the law and LPC in isolation and I know that if I needed to hire I would much rather hire a graduate from ILEX who had experience of working in law whilst studying than an LPC graduate who has never worked in the real world.

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