Letter: don't belittle paralegals

As President of the Scottish Paralegal Association I would like to respond to Mr Adie's letter (Journal, February, 6), in which he felt compelled to make paralegals scapegoats in court actions and, looking into the future, rejections from the Keeper.

I feel that Mr Adie’s comments are unjustified and unfounded. Paralegals play an important role within the Scottish legal system and are an invaluable asset to legal firms. The majority are well qualified to handle transactions on their own under the supervision of a qualified competent solicitor. The SPA has campaigned long and hard for paralegals to be given the recognition they deserve, and as a result formed a partnership with the Law Society of Scotland in creating the Registered Paralegal Scheme. Whilst this scheme is at present voluntary, the criteria for being registered are stringent. All paralegals must have a legal qualification in the subject area in which they work, must be supervised by a solicitor, and must complete CPD.

It is grossly unfair to accuse paralegals of being incompetent with regard to the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012 when the Act is in its infancy and both solicitors and paralegals are learning to adapt. If paralegals are properly trained and supervised by their employers, and allowed to attend training sessions externally, there should be no issues.

I appreciate that Mr Adie may not have intended his comments to be derogatory, but the majority of paralegals are proud of their career path and a main role of the SPA is to promote and assist paralegals throughout Scotland. Accordingly this letter is sent on behalf of the many paralegals who may have found those comments unsuitable.