Is anyone a paralegal?

[WillTheRealDeanGaffneyPleaseStandUp]

I am thinking of applying to become a paralegal in the public sector. The idea is that once I have enough experience, I'll take the Cilex qualifications but I know that is a long term thing.

Realistically I doubt I have the experience to even get an interview but if you don't try...

Anyway, do you like your job? What are the bad bits (assuming you like your colleagues)?

Generally paralegals already need legal qualifications - CILEX or a law degree.

You might be lucky enough to find an employer who’d take someone unqualified and without experience, but every law firm I’ve worked in has required a law degree or equivalent, or someone doing a CILEX apprenticeship. Paralegals do a really important job - which means there has to be a base understanding of the law and procedure.

if you’re serious then I’d really recommend looking into starting your legal qualifications.

In the London firms I worked at, I always earned more as a legal secretary than the paralegals did, which I thought was strange.

They are training you up to do Cilex. It specifically says that if you aren't cilex qualified then they will support and fund it. I know you cant do it until you have a certain amount if experience. You do have to have some understanding of basic legal requirements in that area of law but nothing formal.

Did you enjoy the work?

Are paralegals being replaced by AI?

That being the case then why not apply? You have nothing to lose!

For some context, I have been a legal secretary, paralegal, trainee and fee earner from junior to (now) director level, so I’ve worked in law at pretty much all levels at this point for almost 20 years.

I personally really enjoyed the paralegal and trainee work. You get the benefit of doing a broad range of work that’s similar to what junior lawyers do, but with supervision and support so there’s less pressure than there is at higher levels. It’s varied and fun. The downside I suppose is that you often get jobs dumped on you that the higher ups can’t be bothered to do, but I didn’t even mind that, as I found any aspect of it fun…

As a PP says, AI is unfortunately impacting the legal sector so a lot of junior lawyer jobs are disappearing. I know that sadly, it’s far quicker to use our legal AI support to produce research or assist with basic documents, meaning we have no need for a paralegal within our department anymore. It will never replace humans altogether (nobody wants an AI drafted letter or claim) but it can really assist with jobs which are time consuming, and so much stuff is automated now (as a paralegal I used to have to manually write bundle page numbers on each individual page for example, but now it’s done electronically and automatically).

Law is a marmite profession though - at my first interview the HR Manager said “you will either love or hate this job” and it’s true. I’ve seen a lot of people leave as they hate the pressure or find it dull. But I think as long as you have an interest and know what you’re going into, it really can be a great career - I still love my job, despite the 12 hours of overtime this week…

It’s really unusual to not need a law.degree to be a paralegal. You’ll also be competing against the thousands of law graduates who graduate every year and can’t get training contracts. I’m a senior lawyer. The last thing we need is more people going into law. There will be very few jobs in five years time. AI is having a massive impact and there is an enormous glut of graduates trying to get a foot in the door. It’s absolutely brutal out there.

I say go for it!
Public sector work is quite different from the private sector and most people really love the work they do.
And they are training you up, so you earn while you train and won't be in debt by the time you qualify. I have seen lots of talented lawyers qualify this way in the public sector.

There will be a fair amount of studying so you would want to make sure you have a decent quiet space to study at home.

Thanks everyone.

Sadly AI is taking over a lot of jobs.
In my current job I get a lot of stuff that higher ups dont want to do so that wouldn't change.

I know the competition will be tough! Especially due to the time of year and lots of people just finishing their law degrees. Does it count that I have A level law? 🤣 I dont remember much apart from that slug in a beer bottle!

It was a snail. And no, A Level law is unlikely to be enough.

obviously someone has to get the job but given that you are likely to be competing with many hundreds of law graduates you’re unlikely to be successful.

@WillTheRealDeanGaffneyPleaseStandUp I've taken on people with no legal knowledge and seen them train through cilex to become qualified lawyers. If the job advert doesn't require a law degree then do apply if you are interested!

Some of the best lawyers in my team trained this way.

Weirdly we sometimes don't get that many applications for local government legal jobs even though it's a fascinating career. So don't talk yourself out of applying