Solicitor Shortage in the Shires Promotes Paralegals
Since traveling to London to study the paralegal profession there I have continued to monitor developments there. The legal educational system there causes some problems for the bar, paralegals, and the public. The study of law requires a four year undergraduate degree in substantive law followed by more study on procedural law followed by an apprentice type contract with an existing law office. Unfortunately, the universities are pumping out about twice as many law graduates as there are apprentice contract slots. Many of those graduating will become paralegals of a different sort than we have here.
In England people retain a common law right to select the person from who they obtain legal services, so as long as these paralegals disclose the fact that they are not barristers or solicitors, they can maintain their own offices and give advice to clients. In some areas such as immigration they can gain permission to represent clients before tribunals.
Meanwhile there is a separate education track for what we would call paralegals here in the states. The two primary institutions providing certification and education tend to battle a bit as discussed in this post.
Anyway, the Law Society Gazette reports that a shortage of child care solicitors has led to a rise in the use of paralegal staff to present cases on behalf of local authorities. The Gazette uses the phrase “unqualified paralegal staff.” Apparently this is also a trend among those prosecuting crimes for the Crown. But not everyone sees it in the “unqualified” light:
However Uma Mehta, chair of the Law Society’s children law sub-committee, said the provision to grant rights of audience to unqualified staff was ‘not a problem’.
She said: ‘Local authorities don’t send just anyone to court – only those with adequate experience and under supervision. They are very experienced people doing routine stuff.
It seems to me that this is just another example of paralegals filling an access to justice gap. While there is not likely to be a shortage of attorneys in the United States, there can be (and are) shortages in particular areas (geographical, economic, and legal) leading to gaps in access to justice. While paralegal cannot replace lawyers, by filling those gaps in the areas and for tasks where they are qualified the can provide access to justice and free up the available attorneys to do what only attorneys can do.
Tags: Access to justice, England, London