By Amanda Hamilton, Patron. National Association of Licensed Paralegals
Many people are now turning to Paralegals for assistance with legal issues – paralegals can do much the same work as a solicitor or barrister (with some important exceptions) but for a fraction of the cost. Paralegals are currently a growth area with lots of demand for their services. It is a good time to start a business in this sector.
If you are to have a successful business as a paralegal practitioner, in addition to qualifications, experience is essential. This does not have to be with a solicitor or barrister, because nowadays you can gain the relevant legal experience by working in a variety of different employment environments. Examples could be local authorities, national health service, charities, housing associations, HMRC, Crown Prosecution Service and company in-house legal departments. In fact, anywhere which has an element of legality to the work that you do.
Once you have gained some knowledge of law and legal procedure, you need to decide whether you wish to specialise in one area of law or would like to be a general practitioner. For example, you may have worked in a human resource department of a company and have studied Employment Law – this then may well be the area of law in which you wish to practice. Alternatively, you may have gained your experience in a busy solicitor’s firm dealing with an assortment of legal matters or cases (criminal law, small monetary claims, consumer rights, matrimonial matters etc.) and, as a consequence, you may decide that you wish to become a general practitioner.
Regardless of the route you choose, there are a few things you need to consider.
Reserved Legal Activities
Reserved activities can only be carried out by those authorised by The Legal Services Act 2007, such as solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives. This legal work that a paralegal is not authorised to do includes (amongst others): the right of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities (relating to transfer of land) and probate activities, which can only be done by a solicitor of chartered legal executive or under the supervision of the same.
Fees and money: paralegals are not allowed to take monies in advance or hold client money on account. Everything that a paralegal does should be agreed with the client beforehand and the fees should also be agreed before any work is undertaken. Once completed, the paralegal can invoice the client as agreed. There should be no surprises. If a fee is required in advance for something, then the client will have to pay for it themselves.
Holding Out
Paralegals operating their own business offering advice and assistance to consumers must ensure that they do not hold out. This means, that they must not, either expressly or impliedly, give the impression to consumers that they are solicitors or barristers. For example: referring to yourself as a ‘lawyer’ is not technically incorrect if you are a qualified paralegal, but the inference to a consumer will probably be that you are a solicitor because they may not be aware that paralegals are lawyers. So, the only way round this is to expressly describe yourself as a paralegal or ‘paralegal lawyer’ and this must be stated in all marketing.
Client care
To ensure that paralegals have a sustainable business practice, not only should they adhere to all of the above, but they should also relay all of this in a client care letter together with any complaints policy and have all the information publicly available online. Hopefully, being fully compliant with the above will effectively negate any possible complaint.
How you provide paralegal services
A hugely important decision is how you carry out your business: in your own name; in partnership with other paralegals; incorporate as a limited company and use another name?
This is entirely up to you but be aware that if you set up your business as a company, there are duties you must comply with. For example, you need to submit company accounts each year, meaning you will need to employ an accountant and likely a bookkeeper too. As a sole practitioner, you can work under your own name and do not have such legal obligations. However, you would need to submit your annual tax return each year and be subject to income tax on your earnings. The advantage of setting your business up as a limited company is that your financial obligations may be limited if something goes terribly wrong. Before making your decision, seek professional advice and assistance on the financial aspects of setting up in business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.
Web: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk
Twitter: @NALP_UK
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-association-of-licensed-paralegals/
