Welcome to Amanda Lee, the new Chair to the Register Regulatory Committee

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Amanda Lee as the new Chair of the PPR’s Register Regulatory Committee.

Amanda says about her new appointment “The Professional Paralegal Register plays an important role in safeguarding the interests of the public and other members of the legal profession through the establishment of a robust voluntary regulatory scheme for those practising as paralegals. The Register Regulatory Committee is a vital part of that scheme.

Mindful of the importance of properly protecting and promoting professional standards through such voluntary regulation, I accepted the invitation of the Directors of PPR to serve as Chairperson of the RRC without hesitation and look forward to playing a key role in upholding the important standards established by the PPR, to enable it to continue to facilitate the protection of consumers, enhance consumer choice in the legal services sector and promote the role of paralegals as a recognised ‘fourth arm’ of the legal profession”.

Rita Leat, Managing Director of the Professional Paralegal Register said: “Amanda is an excellent appointment who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise and we look forward to working with together.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our exiting Chair, Sean Randall Morris who was in position for over a year”.

Winners of National Paralegal Awards 2019 Announced!

On 29th March 2019 200 people gathered together at The May Fair Hotel in London for a glamorous gala dinner to celebrate the achievements of Paralegals from across the UK. This is the first awards to take place in the UK which focuses on rewarding the Paralegal Sector. The event started with a champagne reception sponsored by Orion Legal Marketing.

The winners from the 12 categories, covering a variety of legal sectors were announced [see list below] and an Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Baroness Diane Hayter by the Professional Paralegal Register for her support to the paralegal sector.

Rita Leat, Managing Director of The Professional Paralegal Register, the host of these awards, said “The night could not have gone better. We were delighted with the response to these awards. Celebrating the achievements of Paralegals has been long overdue, they are the back bone of the legal sector. The event was a sell out and we are already looking for a bigger venue for 2020. Recognising both winners and finalists was important to us. We had all the finalists on stage as well as the winners which created an atmosphere of true celebration and recognition”.

The judging panel shared their comments when announcing winners relaying the reasons why they had chosen the winner. On the night judge Amir Ali, Chairman of the CCUA said “The event has been amazing, and I was delighted to have been able to judge these awards. The talent was exceptional, and it is great to see Paralegals being recognised”.

Mark Solon, solicitor and Chairman of Wilmington Legal said: “The paralegals are coming! Paralegals specialising in particular fields can do the work of traditional lawyers but need the right training and experience to do as good a job. The Awards rewarded the best of the best and provided a place to celebrate paralegals who have done what it takes and more.”

The evening raised £1800 for the Young Citizens, a charity which specialises in helping young people become active, engaged and motivated citizens, who are able to contribute positively to their communities.

Treethorpe were the headline sponsor of the event, Michelle Aldous, Head of Operations and General Manager said “We wanted to be the headline sponsor the minute these awards were announced as this is very aligned with our values as a business and it has been fantastic to be able to show our support”.

The awards were also sponsored by The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Heslewood and Grant Solicitors, Institute of Paralegals, Clerks Room Direct, Central Law Training, Lawyer Checker, Golden Leaves, Which Legal, F-Lex, Stephen James Partnership and Auscript.

2019 Winners
Best Family Law Paralegal – Dawn Gore, Trethowans LLP
Best Trademark Paralegal – Rebecca McBride, Pinset Masons
Best ADR Paralegal – Maria Arpa
Best Employment/HR Paralegal – Michael Coe, Dimensions 888
Best Conveyancing Paralegal – Kay Liddle, PM Property Lawyers
Best Pro Bono Paralegal – Ashleah Skinner
Best Probate Research Paralegal – Lauren Geary, Treethorpe
Will Writing Organisation of the Year – Heritage Will Writers
Paralegal Recruitment Organisation of the Year – EJ Group
Best Law Firm – Paralegal Development – Dentons UK and Middle East LLP
Paralegal Business of the Year – Fraser and Fraser
Paralegal of the Year – Leah Caprani, Winckworth Sherwood LLP

2019 Highly Commended

  • Best Pro Bono Paralegal – Lyn Berry
  • Best Probate Research Paralegal – Neil Fraser – Fraser & Fraser
  • Paralegal of the Year – Gerald Murphy, Philip Nam, Jonathan Dattani, Ashleah Skinner and Caroline Spencer Boulton

You now have more time to enter the National Paralegal Awards 2020!

After receiving feedback, for those of you who would like to enter but have commitments ahead of the Christmas break, the decision has been made to extend the final deadline for entries to Friday 3rd January 2020 at 5pm.

There will be no further extensions after this date.

Why enter? 
Winning or being a finalist of an award is a great way to progress your career or to develop your business.  It brings great recognition for your expertise, hard work and commitment to the paralegal profession!

How to enter? 
Entry is open now, online and free. You do not need to be nominated.

To find out how to enter and to download the entry pack and template visit www.nationalparalegalawards.com
 
Please ensure that you read the pack carefully and use the entry form template, sections and headers provided.  It is important that you use these as they match the criteria and score cards our judges will be using. Once completed these are to be copied and pasted into the online entry form
 
If you need any help or advice on what categories to enter or the type of supporting evidence you need to include, please contact us on 01442 508 206 or email [email protected] 
Please note that the PPR office closes on the 20th December and reopens on 2nd January 2020.