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.

What is a registered paralegal?

A registered paralegals is defined as a paralegal who

• works in support of a practising Scottish solicitor in delivering legal advice to clients
• works according to general competencies which apply to all registered paralegals irrespective of practice area, and competencies specific to their own area of practice
• adheres to a code of conduct aligned with Scottish solicitors' code of conduct

Registered Paralegal Scheme - The Full Route

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

Application forms 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'')

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 sheme, the three stages of launch, and providers of paralegal training, are answered in our Paralegals FAQs page.