Accredited paralegal update

News for Law Society of Scotland accredited paralegals, plus practice area highlight: civil litigation – debt recovery

18th March 2019 | Janet Rieu-Clarke

Since we last went to print it has been all about the #AP2019Renewal! We ended 2018-19 on a high and I am looking forward to seeing how many members we have when renewal closes on 1 April 2019. I am keen that as many Scottish paralegals enjoy the benefits of accreditation and look forward to welcoming new members on board.

The Accredited Paralegal Committee has had its first meeting of the year and we are pleased to welcome on board three new faces who will bring new ideas and enthusiasm. We have started to pull together a plan of action for the coming year and hope to share some of this with you shortly.

What else? I attended my first mentoring training day, which focused on how to be good, effective mentors. This involved some role play using real life scenarios, and certainly made me re-evaluate my listening skills as I realised how often I automatically turn to selective hearing. To find out more, check out my blog at www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/news/are-you-listening/ And if you think you would benefit from being mentored, or indeed becoming a mentor, please get in touch.

Coming up next month… we will be at the Central Law Training Scots Law Conference in Glasgow, so if you are there, why not pop along and say hello.

Practice area highlight: civil litigation – debt recovery

There are currently 12 practice areas in which paralegals can become accredited. This month we take a look at debt recovery.

Each practice area has a corresponding set of competencies which we would expect an accredited paralegal working in that area to be meeting. If you are a trainee accredited paralegal, we would expect you to meet these after one year of training.

An accredited paralegal acting for a creditor or debtor should be able to progress a debt recovery case, from the point of taking the client’s initial instructions through to conclusion of the case.

The accredited paralegal should be competent to:

interview and correspond with client;
correspond and liaise with debtor or their representative, and with relevant bodies and authorities
advise client on the different types of court proceedings available and their procedural aspects;
negotiate settlement as an alternative to litigation or in settlement of litigation;
prepare and draft all documentation as may be required to commence court proceedings up to decree (undefended), including the instruction of local agents where appropriate;
sist cases and have sist recalled;
advise on procedure in respect of a time to pay application and draft appropriate documentation;
prepare case for time to pay hearings;
advise client on appropriate enforcement options available including procedure and implement instructions accordingly;
prepare case for diligence hearings.

You can read the full details of the competency here.

If you are interested in becoming accredited in this area, please contact Laura McBain at accreditedparalegals@lawscot.org.uk for more information.

This article was updated July 2023