The Society is delighted to be able to join Central College and its guests today, as it marks the launch of its new Centre for Scottish Paralegal Education. Congratulations are due to Principal Paul Little, Head of School Margaret Darroch and the entire team here at Central College, on the commencement of a re-focused set of courses at the start of the new academic session. 

In difficult economic times, it is heartening to be in attendance at an event like this, which celebrates new developments in legal education on behalf of those who seek to train and work as paralegals in Scotland. I understand the number of registrations is good, which is encouraging for recovery of the market. 

Today, it is my job to highlight the role of the Law Society of Scotland, our work with the Scottish Paralegal Association, our interest in developments in the paralegal sector, and very briefly mention the Registered Paralegal scheme which the Society intends to consult on and launch in association with the Scottish Paralegal Association. 

Firstly, then, the Law Society of Scotland is the professional body for solicitors. For sixty years we have represented and regulated our members, but in the years leading up to our 60th anniversary, and this year in particular, unprecedented change has been upon us. 

Last October, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission opened its doors and radically changed the way in which complaints against Scottish solicitors are dealt with. Earlier this year, as part of the Society’s review of structure and services, a new Representation and Professional Support Division was created. The Society has had to respond to the financial challenges facing its members and, just last Thursday, a £100 reduction in the cost of the Practising Certificate fee for solicitors was passed by members at the Special General Meeting. 

Tomorrow sees the launch of the Legal Services Bill which signals real change for the Scottish legal profession, and the Society must position itself in anticipation of two tier regulation of the legal services sector. In the future that is likely to mean regulation of solicitors, but also the entities that deliver legal services - anticipated to include multi-disciplinary practices offering much more than just legal advice - which employ them. 

In a wider legal services market in which entities are regulated, the role of the solicitor, and the standards which solicitors must uphold, will be increasingly important. And if that is true so too, then, is the role of the paralegal working with Scottish solicitors. 

In all respects the Society must look to the future as a professional body, ensuring we are fit for purpose and ready to meet the challenges facing our members – old and new. In recognition of the importance of paralegals in the delivery of legal services in Scotland, the Society has worked with the Scottish Paralegal Association for over a decade, ultimately assisting with the introduction of a CPD and complaints regime for their members. In 1997, the Society recognised the Scottish Paralegal Association as the independent representative organisation for paralegals in Scotland. 

Over the years, work done by the Society in support of the paralegal profession has increased and improved. In 2008 this culminated in the launch of a consultation paper on proposed regulation of paralegals in Scotland, in association with the SPA. This was called ‘Registered Paralegals – creating a new professional status for paralegals in Scotland’. The proposed scheme was an example of our ability to regulate legal professionals in addition to our own solicitor members in order to protect the public. It was to be at the forefront of paralegal regulation worldwide, and would change the face of the paralegal profession in Scotland. 

So what does it involve? 

Well, it is not my intention to speak on the detail of the proposed Registered Paralegal scheme, as a section of tomorrow’s programme has been dedicated to this very topic. I urge everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to ask the Society’s Deputy Director of Education and Training Policy, Collette Paterson, on the Society’s plans to roll out a second consultation in association with the SPA later this year. 

What I can say is that the scheme seeks to introduce educational standards, continuing professional development obligations, and a complaints regime for the Registered Paralegal. It is these elements combined which the Society intends to ensure the protection of qualified paralegals, the solicitors who employ them and, of course, the public who are consumers of legal services. 

In terms of educational standards, a key plank of the scheme, as is to be proposed in the final consultation, is that holding a qualification will be an absolute requirement for entry. The Society believes firmly that this criteria should be upheld and will propose this in the second consultation. 

This is important for many reasons –the Registered Paralegal will become recognised by paralegals as being of the highest possible standard, as they will have an academic base on which in-office experience can be built and competence achieved. For employing solicitors, who delegate work to paralegals, they can rely on the Registered Paralegal being suitably qualified for the job. Last but certainly not least, the public will see and take comfort in the academic standards which have been achieved by any Registered Paralegal they deal with in the course of for example their house sale, or the drafting of their will, or their divorce. 

The 2008 consultation was hugely successful, attracting over 400 responses. However, the consultation closed just as the nation slid into recession and, as we all know, paralegals were amongst the first affected when the downturn hit. Whilst publicly no formal launch date was set, therefore, the work that the Society and the SPA have continued to do, based on a strong belief in this project, was ‘behind the scenes’ in anticipation of market recovery. 

The Society is therefore delighted, particularly in difficult times, to be here today not only to support the launch of the Centre for Scottish Paralegal Education, but to do so in the same month as the Society’s Board has agreed to the launch of a second consultation in relation to a regulated status for paralegals. This consultation, which takes account of the responses to the original consultation and takes original policy plans to the next level, will be held later this year. The Society and the SPA know that high standards are important in good and bad times, but in anticipation of market recovery believe that now is appropriate to launch this final, consultation. 

Because holding a qualification is a key component of the scheme, the Society is hugely supportive of the work of the Scottish Qualifications Authority in introducing a nationally recognised set of qualifications for paralegals, for uptake by the college sector in Scotland. We hope the proposed Registered Paralegal scheme to attract paralegals from across disciplines, and across the country. The delivery of SQA courses at Central College is a welcome addition to paralegal training which already exists in Scotland from which prospective students can choose according to their different needs. With the SQA’s work on the development of Personal Development Awards still ongoing, this is no doubt a sign of great things to come for paralegals across the country. 

I’m sure we’ll all enjoy the rest of today’s programme, including the tour of the centre and an insight into what Central College is looking to achieve with the new Centre for Scottish Paralegal Education. On behalf of the Society, I wish Central College, the Centre for Scottish Paralegal Education, and students who will embark on courses and seek to enter the legal services market thereafter, the very best of luck for the future.