Who are paralegals?
There is no formal route to become a paralegal. In law firms experienced legal secretaries frequently gain sufficient experience to begin handling paralegal matters. Outside law firms, employers either hire in for a specific position, or a staff member develops an expertise in a paralegal matter and that becomes a large part of their job. Only a minority of paralegals are graduates. It is a very diverse profession in terms of age, gender and ethnic origin. Is there a paralegal profession? Within law firms, the answer is yes. The profession is still in its formative stages, but is increasingly recognized by employers, the government and the judicial system. Outside of law firms it is not yet a recognized profession because it covers so many different occupations and sectors. There is however an increasing recognition that it is a distinct, and transportable, skill set. There are a great many paralegals. The Institute estimates that there are over 500,000 in the UK, with only 50,000 work
