Amanda Hamilton & Jane Robson explain why self-regulation for paralegals promotes access to justice & benefits the sector as a whole
Why paralegals are not regulated by statute and the benefits of self-regulation.
It comes as no surprise to those currently working in the legal services sector, that there is extensive statutory regulation. Solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives are only too well aware of this since they are ‘legally’ bound to put their hands in their pockets in order to pay for it. The privilege of having to pay for membership to a professional body, together with paying for your regulatory body and, in addition, the overarching supervisory body is a costly burden to bear. Unfortunately, the only individuals that really suffer as a consequence of this is the consumer of legal services, since the cost of statutory regulation is reflected in the fees charged to clients of such professionals.
The whole sector seems to have spiralled out of control in this respect. We should surely remember that ultimately, the reasons behind offering legal services is to give consumers
