By Amanda Hamilton, Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP)
The first route into the legal profession many people think of is qualifying as a solicitor, but the fees are hefty, and it takes a significant amount of time. To qualify as a solicitor, you should plan on it taking five to six years and you need to be prepared to spend £27k on a degree and just under £5000 for Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE).It is a similar story if you wish to qualify as a barrister: a law degree (£27k) plus the Bar Professional Training Course (£15k – £19k).That’s a significant investment (in terms of both cash and time), particularly if you are a career changer. However, there are other options – here are just a few:
Paralegals
Many consumers and businesses need legal help, but the fees of a solicitor can vary from £200 to £600 per hour. This is a stretch for most people, which is why more and more large businesses and legal practices are employing paralegals in their teams. Paralegals can be highly qualified and can do almost the same work as solicitors, but at a much more affordable rate. This makes it a growth area with lots of potential for qualified, competent people.
To qualify as a paralegal, you do not necessarily need to gain a law degree (although if you have done so, there is a paralegal qualification for graduates). The only Ofqual awarding organisation specialising in bespoke paralegal qualifications is NALP – qualifications can be completed within two years at a reasonable cost (less than £2000). Studying can be done full time, or part time to fit around your other commitments, and Centres (across the country, and abroad) offer courses with classroom, blended and remote learning options.
The benefit of achieving a NALP qualification is that once you have gained sufficient experience, you can, subject to eligibility, gain a Licence to Practise and offer legal services in your chosen specialist area(s) direct to consumers. In other words, you can set up your own private paralegal practice. At this level, a paralegal can offer similar services to that of a solicitor (with the exception of a few ‘Reserved Legal Activities’ as defined by Section12 of The Legal Services Act 2007).
Legal experience or legal job roles do not have to be limited to within a law firm or in the legal sector. Most companies and organisations have legal departments or at least an element of legality to what they do on a daily basis, whether it be in HR dealing with employment contracts or matters, or whether it be drafting or checking commercial contracts. This means that there is a broad spectrum of potential employers in a wide range of sectors that require specialist legal skills, some of which will also be willing to train you to deal with their own specialist legal requirements. NALP has paralegal members working in a range of sectors including Premiership football clubs, oil companies, the Ministry of Defence, fashion houses, car manufacturers, local councils and the police.
With thousands of paralegal jobs advertised each year there are lots of opportunities (Totally Legal advertised around 3000 paralegal jobs in the last 12 months); Paralegal doesn’t mean ‘stuck at one level’.
Apprenticeships and Internship
Another method of gaining entry to the law sector is apprenticeship. Currently, there is a Level 3 Paralegal Apprentice Scheme where you learn while working, and your studies will be sponsored by your employer. There will be a Level 5 Paralegal Apprentice scheme coming soon which may be suitable for more mature apprentices.
Applying for a legal internship may also be an option but most organisations will require you to have a law degree or equivalent legal qualification. Internships give you an opportunity to gain experience within a legal framework (law firm or in-house legal department) for anything up to about a year. Legal reform charity Justice has a well-established internship programme.
Costs Lawyer
The role of a Costs Lawyer overlaps to some extent with that of a paralegal—both may draft legal documents, perform case-related administrative work, and support solicitors or clients—however, a Costs Lawyer’s expertise is highly specialised. Rather than handling general legal work, they concentrate specifically on costs law and procedure. Paralegals, by contrast, tend to work in a broader range of legal areas, such as conveyancing, family law, or litigation.
To become a qualified Costs Lawyer, an individual must complete the regulated training and qualification pathway overseen by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB). ACL Training is the only CLSB-accredited Costs Lawyer training provider, and they offer flexible learning at just under £7000 for a two-year course.
Legal Secretaries
Although a legal secretary mainly provides administrative and clerical support to solicitors, barristers, or legal executives—handling correspondence, preparing documents, managing diaries, and ensuring the smooth running of an office—their work can sometimes overlap with paralegal roles. Legal Secretaries are often very familiar with legal procedures and terminology, with many legal secretaries developing strong knowledge and skills that allow them to transition into paralegal work.
Legal secretarial training, recognised by law firms and recruiters throughout the UK and internationally, is provided by the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs. Their distance learning and online courses are less than £1000.
Summary
There are lots of different ways to work in the law, and you don’t necessarily have to spend tens of thousands of pounds, or many years of your time, gaining a qualification as a solicitor. The most popular option, qualifying as a paralegal, will be under £2000 and can take around a year (depending on the level). And with so many organisations, in a variety of sectors needing employees with legal knowledge, it really is a question of choosing a sector in which you believe you can make a difference.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.
Web: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-association-of-licensed-paralegals
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nalp_uk
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nalp-uk.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nalp_uk
