In practice: Why clarity matters

It is vital that paralegals understand what they can and cannot do.

Paralegals must always be transparent and communicate clearly with their clients.

Gaining Ofqual recognised qualifications can be a real boost to a paralegal’s career.

As a paralegal practitioner, one of the most important issues to bear in mind when offering legal services to consumers, is to ensure that you are not ‘holding out’. This is when you give an impression either by inference or omission or expressly, that you are anything other than a paralegal.

Such an impression can be made verbally or written on a business card or on your website. It is vital that you make it clear to any prospective client that you are a paralegal rather than a solicitor or barrister and as such, there are limits to what you can do for them. These limits which are out of bounds to a paralegal, are what is known as ‘reserved activities’