The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) has announced that it is to launch an enquiry into whether paralegals can meet the market needs of the future.

The Paralegal Enquiry, which will commence this autumn, is anticipated to deliver a holistic view of the future market context (regulated and unregulated) for legal services delivery from 2020.

CILEx President Stephen Gowland said:

“We hope this enquiry will make legal businesses aware of the ethical, regulatory, consumer and market issues of utilising paralegal talent, the skills and progression opportunities they will need, and ultimately inform business choices in the use of paralegals for the future.

 

“With research indicating a 17% increase in medium-skilled business professionals within a decade, we want to know if this will be reflected in the paralegal workforce, and what opportunities and challenges the increased use of paralegals will bring.

 

“CILEx is uniquely placed to lead this enquiry; as well as representing around 7,500 Chartered Legal Executives, we also represent 12,500 paralegals, the largest paralegal membership in the UK, and we’re the only body to independently regulate paralegals in the public interest. Paralegals have always been relied on to meet business needs and this will continue as the market faces both fresh and intractable challenges. We are hoping to hear from a broad range of voices in this enquiry, and I hope all those with a view will contribute.”

CILEx will commission research which will be scoped and defined through a series of focus groups and roundtable discussions and will consider the characteristics of the legal workforce and employer attitudes towards the use of paralegals in future.

Stakeholders, including legal businesses, training providers, journalists and professional and regulatory bodies, who would like to be involved in the Paralegal Enquiry, should register their interest by emailing: paralegal.enquiry@cilex.org.uk.