Paralegal Qualifications

What is a paralegal?

A paralegal is a member of staff who has completed some legal training, but is not qualified as a solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive lawyer. The term applies to any member of staff progressing files under supervision – from legal secretaries who have gained the necessary knowledge to carry out specific practical tasks, to law graduates who progress a heavy caseload of files from start to finish.

Paralegals are very commonly employed in the fields of residential conveyancing, personal injury or debt recovery where roles might be advertised as ‘Conveyancing Assistant’, ‘Claims Handler’ or ‘Litigation Assistant’ respectively. A paralegal might be known as a 'Legal Assistant' in family or employment law departments.

Paralegal training

The role of the paralegal varies greatly between organisation and different areas of legal practice. Courses start at Level 2 (GCSE-level) training for legal secretaries who wish to move into paralegal work and have not studied for a long time, through to Level 6 (honours-degree level) courses for law graduates to acquire high-level legal practice skills.

Which course is right for me?

If you have GCSEs

If your current academic qualifications are at GCSE level then we recommend that you start with the City & Guilds/CILEX Level 2 Award/Certificate/Diploma in Legal Studies.

If you have A-Levels

If you have A-Levels it is recommended you will need to take the CILEX Level 3 Certificate in Law and Practice.

Further information

Read more about the stages of training required to become a paralegal. Alternatively, to receive our literature or join our email list fill out our online form today.