Registered Paralegal Scheme
Background
The Registered Paralegal Scheme was set up in 2010 to provide a
defined professional status and a career path for paralegals. The
scheme recognises the important role of the paralegal in Scotland
and sets a new high standard for paralegals to attain. Those
paralegals who meet the standard will have a formally recognised
and assessed qualification relevant to their area of legal
practice.
Registered Paralegal Scheme - The Full
Route
It is a pre-requisite for the scheme from the start of the full
route that those commencing training as a trainee registered
paralegal hold a relevant qualification.
Those entering via the full route will be required to hold a
'formally recognised and assessed
qualification'
- those holding such a qualification would enter the
scheme as a trainee registered paralegal
- during a one year training period, the
paralegal and solicitor will work together so that by the end of
the training period, both general competences and competencies
specific to the legal area in which the paralegal is working, are
achieved
- the trainee registered paralegal will qualify as a
registered paralegal as a result
As with any scheme, it will be possible for a
potential applicant to apply for a waiver from one or more of
the requirements for entry.
Legal Domains
There are currently eight Legal Domains which
paralegals can register in:
- Civil Litigation: Debt Recovery
- Civil Litigation: Family Law
- Civil Litigation: Reparation Law
- Commercial Conveyancing
- Criminal Litigation
- Domestic Conveyancing
- Liquor Licensing
- Wills & Executries
A number of other Legal Domains are under consideration by the
Registered Paralegal Standing Committee:
- Civil Litigation: Industrial Disease
- Company Registrar/Secretarial
- Oil and Gas
- Commercial Law
- Repossession Law
Applications to register in a Legal Domain that is still
under consideration cannot be accepted until a
paralegal has completed the relevant questionnaire which is
required to create a new Legal Domain. Paralegals who wish to
create a new domain (e.g. Employment Law) can fill in the
Additional Competencies Questionnaire on the right-hand side of
this page to 'prompt' the Society into creating the new domain (NB:
These documents are sometimes known as ''Prompt Sheets'')
Click the link below to the on-line CRM
application and registration website to apply under the
full route or to apply for a waiver:
Make your application.
Already registered?
Those who have already registered, or are completing their
application, can access their log in area by clicking on the link
below:
Registered paralegal online account
The Society strongly recommends that all paralegals (or other
interested parties) sign up to the Society's Communications Opt-in
for updates on the Registered Paralegal scheme. Even if you
get updates from your employing organisation or paralegal
association, the information in the Society updates may be
important to you. Please email registeredparalegals@lawscot.org.uk
with the title "OPT-IN" to join.
Some initial questions you may have about the
Registered Paralegal scheme, the three stages of launch, and
providers of paralegal training, are answered in our Paralegals FAQs page.