Paralegal roles on course for big increase
Law firms are expected to increase the number of paralegals they employ by 18 per cent over the next five years, according to research by Skills for Justice.
A survey of 51 firms conducted by the not-for-profit skills organisation found that legal employers would increase the number of people taking on paralegal functions from an average of 42 per firm to 49 per firm by 2017.
In addition, 83 per cent of firms said they would be interested in taking on apprentices in this sector.
The surveyed firms currently employ a total of 2,143 paralegals – however by 2017 this number is projected to rise to 2,522.
Personal injury civil litigation accounts for the highest number of paralegals with 48 per cent of organisations saying they employed paralegals in this field.
This was followed by domestic property conveyancing at 43.5 per cent, commercial property conveyancing at 37 per cent and debt recovery at 37 per cent.
Over the next two years employers expect wills, trusts and administration of estates to become another big area for paralegals.
Employers surveyed said the majority of apprentices they employed were in business administration – however, after the development and approval of the paralegal framework, firms expect to employ hundreds of apprentices.
The first commercial paralegal national apprentices are expected to be employed in July 2013.
Skills for Justice chief executive Alan Woods said: “It is important that we give employers the opportunity to tell us the benefits people employed as paralegals bring to their business and how they see the future for this area of the legal sector.
“This research has highlighted some very interesting findings for us. We look forward to working in partnership with employers and our partners to create recognised paralegal apprenticeships, and increase opportunities for young people to develop careers in law.”
Earlier this month Skills for Justice launched a six week national consultation on the first set of draft National Occupational Standards which will underpin all apprenticeships [6 June 2012].
The news follows the announcement last week that Skills for Justice in partnership with CILEx, Pearson and Damar Training recently secured nearly £1m pounds from Government to create 750 apprenticeships by March 2015 [22 June 2012].
Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 28-Jun-2012 11:31 pm
It isn't surprising that law firms are going to recruit more paralegals. They're cheap. The problem is that these roles seem to be replacing trainee opportunities and opportunities for qualified lawyers. It's worrying for those who work as paralegals hoping to qualify at some point.
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Jane Henthorn | 3-Jul-2012 9:03 am
At some point the armies of solicitor wannabees are going to dry up when the perception changes that the only work available to them is low paid no prospect paralegal work.
It is a mystery to me why anyone now chooses this career path, it's a mug's game and has to be one of the most exploitative areas of the jobs market that there is.
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Kerri | 8-Jul-2012 9:06 pm
It is interesting that these findings show an increase in the number of paralegal positions. I cannot help but wonder whether these statistics will prove to be an accurate prediction once the removal of the minimum salary for training contracts takes effect in August 2014. According to research conducted by the SRA, the removal of this minimum salary could result in an increased number of training contracts. With this research to contend with, it appears to me that the future is indeed very uncertain. Alongside the other recent changes all over the legal profession resulting from the Legal Services Act, it is a wonder how anyone can predict the future for those individuals starting out in the legal profession.
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