header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Retaining paralegals in an increasingly competitive marketplace

26 January 2024
Issue: 8056 / Categories: Legal News , Profession
printer mail-detail
154920

Employers may need to offer development opportunities and long-term career progress for paralegals in order to retain them in an increasingly competitive marketplace, Linda Ford, CEO of CILEX, writes in this week’s NLJ

The role of paralegals has changed considerably, as the role of fully qualified lawyers has changed, leading employers to realise that ‘in order to remain competitive, paralegals need to be central to their business’, Ford notes. She highlights the considerable growth in demand in recent years.

Ford explains the professional paralegal standards framework and career ladder that has been set up, offering the opportunity to become a Chartered Paralegal.

She writes: ‘While in the past paralegals would have been primarily working in a support role, often as a stepping stone to becoming a qualified lawyer, it is now a profession in its own right… Many are running their own departments and have their own caseloads, others have set up their own businesses.’ 
Issue: 8056 / Categories: Legal News , Profession
printer mail-details
RELATED ARTICLES

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
back-to-top-scroll