{"id":29,"date":"2020-09-26T09:55:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T09:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lawandlegal.co.uk\/careers\/"},"modified":"2020-09-26T21:25:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T21:25:41","slug":"paralegal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lawandlegal.co.uk\/careers\/paralegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Paralegal"},"content":{"rendered":"

This page is for paralegal careers advice for those looking to study and work in the UK. <\/p>\n

\"Paralegal<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does a Paralegal do?<\/h2>\n

A paralegal is quite a generic term that refers to a variety of roles carried out by staff who can do legal work, but who are not qualified legal professionals. Paralegals are also known as legal assistants or caseworkers. They often do similar work to solicitiors.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that there are around 500,000 paralegal workers in the UK. Paralegals are different to legal support staff, such as legal secretaries in that paralegals actually deal with the law directly, rather than providing back-up services.<\/p>\n

Through their work, a paralegal may spend their time administering, enforcing, monitoring or advising on the law.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day to day tasks<\/h2>\n

Because the term paralegal is quite broad, there a wide range of tasks that a paralegal could potentially do. These include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Putting together legal documents<\/li>\n
  • Carrying out legal research<\/li>\n
  • Talking to clients and witnesses<\/li>\n
  • Going to court hearings<\/li>\n
  • Dealing with clients\u2019 cases<\/li>\n
  • Providing legal advice<\/li>\n
  • Legal admin work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Most of the work for a paralegal will be office-based, although time may be spent in court and meeting clients.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Training and qualifications<\/h2>\n

    Whereas very specific training is needed to become a solicitor or a barrister, there are no minimum requirements for becoming a paralegal.<\/p>\n

    Many paralegals gain their experience and training on the job. Some, but by no means all, come from a legal education background, and others take paralegal training whilst they\u2019re working. Relevant training for becoming a paralegal includes:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • A law degree<\/li>\n
    • A law-based BTEC, HNC or HND<\/li>\n
    • A qualification from an organisation such as the Institute of Legal Executives, the\u00a0 of Paralegals or the the National Association of Licensed Paralegals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Key skills<\/h2>\n

      There are a range of skills and aptitudes which are useful for becoming a paralegal. These are:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Good attention to detail<\/li>\n
      • Honesty<\/li>\n
      • A genuine interest in the law<\/li>\n
      • Ability to cope under pressure<\/li>\n
      • Enjoy working with people<\/li>\n
      • Able to cope with high levels of responsibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Employment opportunities<\/h2>\n

        Employment opportunities do exist for paralegals within law firms, but this isn\u2019t the only option. Estimates suggest that only half of the UK\u2019s paralegals work within law firms. The rest work in a wide range of organisations, such as councils, trade unions, educational institutions, police forces, enforcement bodies and large corporations.<\/p>\n

        Freelance work is also a possibility for experienced paralegals.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Paralegal Salary<\/h2>\n

        The average paralegal salary is \u00a323,038 according to jobs website Indeed in 2020. Depending on the type of company a paralegal works for and which sector it is in, a paralegal can except to earn from \u00a320,000 when they first start out to \u00a340,000+ as they gain more experience.<\/p>\n

        Some top-earning paralegals earn over \u00a370,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        This page is for paralegal careers advice for those looking to study and work in the UK.   What does a Paralegal do? A paralegal is quite a generic term that refers to a variety of roles carried out by staff who can do legal work, but who are not qualified legal professionals. Paralegals are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nParalegal Career Advice - UK Training, Salary, Job Description<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This page is for paralegal careers advice for those looking to study and work in the UK. 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