Living in America

In the song Better in the USA, “friendly skies, beautiful girls, burgers and fries” are all cited by singer Glenn Frey as examples of what makes the US better. Unfortunately, Glenn forgot to add paralegalling into his verse as an example of what is better stateside. This is understandable; it is not easy
to find words that rhyme with ‘paralegalling’.

In England and Wales, it is rare to find a career paralegal. This is because of an oversupply of law graduates chasing a limited number of training contracts. The Law Society’s annual statistical report revealed that 15,348 students graduating from first degree law courses in England and Wales in 2013,
and 5,302 training contracts available in the year ending
31 July 2013.

Vast numbers

Taking into account that around half of trainees have undertaken a non-law degree, the figures exemplify the vast number of law graduates seeking
training contracts.

Not wanting to abandon
the legal sector and appear non-committal to the law, these law graduates fill the time-gap until they (expectantly) obtain
a training contract with paralegalling.

Paralegals are now arriving
at law firms in droves, ready to work incessantly to impress enough to be offered a training contract. Many are also highly qualified having completed the Legal Practice Course (LPC).

In contrast to the position
in England and Wales, paralegalling is largely a career choice for those in the US. Paralegal qualifications and years of legal experience are often compulsory before being able to obtain the role of a paralegal, making it more of a revered position rather than a brief stopover for law graduates’ first experience of working in a law firm.

Law graduates can even
be excluded from applying for paralegal positions. One such instance was a job posting in the Colorado Attorney General’s office. The advertisement stated that a paralegal certificate was a minimum requirement and that a law degree could not qualify as a substitute.

In England and Wales, there are separate qualifications and accreditation for paralegals provided by associations such as the Institute for Paralegals. However, they are rarely advertised as prerequisites to
a paralegal role.

No training

On 1 July 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced that LPC graduates will be eligible to qualify as solicitors without having to complete a training contract.

This is good news for law graduates but a blow for those wanting to carve out a career as a paralegal. The paralegal market will become further saturated with law graduates viewing paralegalling as
an alternative route to qualification. As a result, career paths for career paralegals may be pushed aside.

Better measure

The US has got the measure better by keeping the paralegal role distinct from law graduate roles. Instead of dealing directly with the oversupply of law graduates in England and Wales, the SRA is diluting paralegalling as a career by encouraging more law graduates to apply as paralegals and chase the carrot of qualifying as a solicitor, which, in the case of some law firms, may never stop being dangled
in front of them. SJ

Natasza Slater is a trainee at HowardKennedyFsi