Amir Ali announced as new President of the Professional Paralegal Register

The former Chairman of the CCUA who has over three decades of experience in both Legal and Enforcement sectors, Amir Ali, has become the inaugural President of the Professional Paralegal Register (PPR), a not-for-profit organisation which provides regulation for Paralegals.

The inaugural President calls for recognition of the only organisation offering independent regulation for Paralegals who work outside of regulated entities.

He has ambitious plans for the next 12 months and is determined to see the organisation play a major role in the future of legal services regulation.

Amir Commented:

Only PPR regulated Paralegals are able to offer the protection of independent regulation making them a valuable asset for the profession and for consumers.  I want to continue the work with key stakeholders at the LSB, MoJ, CMA and the Judiciary that has already been championed by the Managing Director, Rita Leat, which will enable our members to fully utilise their skills within the legal profession.   PPR Paralegals are unique as they are not only trained and have vast amounts of experience, but they also have the added protection of being regulated.  In order to ease the burden on the court service by the rise of unrepresented parties and the significant disadvantage’s that Litigants in Person may suffer, it is vital that rights of audience are applied to our regulated Paralegals.

Amir Ali – PPR President

Rita Leat, Managing Direct and founding member of the PPR said:

Amir has spent his career working at the highest level of government and will be an asset to the PPR to help further its goals. I look forward enormously to working with him.

Amir said, “I am both honoured and touched to be appointed the inaugural President of The Professional Paralegal Register (PPR). 

The PPR represents one of the largest branches of the legal profession here in the UK.

The Register champions diversity, inclusivity and equality within the profession whilst delivering access to justice and consumer protection for all.

The PPR is the independent voluntary regulator for all paralegals.

I am looking forward to furthering the Register’s collective ambition during my tenure, including but not limited to:

  • Increasing both awareness and recognition of the role of the PPR in providing regulation for the sector, now, and in the future with the changing regulatory landscape, for the register and paralegals.
  • Developing Paralegal Rights of Audience within the profession.
  • Helping and assisting (The PPR) in promoting the Paralegal Profession to acquire Chartered Status through its Institute.

For further information, please contact:

Abby Dennis, Head of Memberships and Events @ [email protected]

Notes to editors:
  • The PPR www.ppr.org.uk is the only independent regulator of Paralegals in the UK.
  • The membership is made up of paralegals working in commerce, charities, law firms, paralegal law firms, will writing companies and may be employees, freelancers, business owners or sole traders.
  • PPR offers the opportunity of a non-graduate route to practice and has an experiential route for those who have requisite experience.
  • Those who hold a Paralegal Practising Certificate are fully regulated whilst those who are Registered only are regulated for conduct not services.
  • PPR is committed to supporting members to deliver accessible legal services to the public.

Our membership is diverse 52% of members are women.  The President is available for interviews.  Please contact Abby Dennis in the first instance on [email protected]

January 12, 2021 News, Recognised Body, Member News, Press Release 0

Finalists Announced for Prestigious Paralegal Awards

PRESS RELEASE

The Professional Paralegal Register have announced the finalists from 16 individual and business categories that have been shortlisted for the 2020 National Paralegal Awards.

These professional legal awards, now in their second year are the only awards dedicated to rewarding and recognising the outstanding work of Paralegals and law firms that support the development of the paralegal profession.

The winners will be announced at a gala black tie ceremony at the Grand Connaught Rooms in the West End on Friday 27 March 2020.

The independent judging panel which was comprised of 17 legal and business professionals was overseen by Head Judge Amir Ali, Chairman of the CCUA.

Amir Ali said:

“I and the judging panel were very impressed by the high standard of entries shortlisted. There are many very talented paralegals and firms dedicated to supporting the development of the profession – judging the entries was no easy feat!”

Amir continued to say “Paralegals are the backbone of the Legal Sector, often at the coalface who receive little or no recognition for the vital role they perform within the industry, and professional awards such as these are a fantastic opportunity to congratulate all finalists on their achievements and successes”.

Managing Director of the Professional Paralegal Register, Rita Leat said:

“Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted for the National Paralegal Awards. Yet again, the number of high quality entries we received represents the breadth and range of paralegal activity and excellent work undertaken in the UK. Thank you to our judges for their work and we look forward to meeting the finalists and our sponsors at our awards gala.”

This year’s headline sponsor is Fraser and Fraser and categories were sponsored by a variety of businesses who work with the legal sector, and legal membership organisations including The Institute of Paralegals, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.

This years shortlisted finalists can be found at National Paralegal Awards 2020 Finalists.

NOTES TO EDITOR

  1. The organisers of the National Paralegal Awards are The Professional Paralegal Register (PPR), a voluntary registered scheme to promote professional paralegals as a recognised fourth arm of the legal profession and to enhance consumer choice and protection. Only Paralegals that are on this register are regulated by us.
  2. The National Paralegal Awards are open to any paralegals working within the United Kingdom and they do not need to be registered with the PPR, hold a Paralegal Practising Certificate or be a member of a membership organisation.
  3. The National Paralegal Awards event is being held on Friday 27 March 2020.  For more information about the event, please contact Abby at [email protected]

Join the conversation about the awards on Twitter using #PPRNPAAWARDS #PPRPARALEGALAWARDS

February 7, 2020 Awards, Press Release 0

National Paralegal Awards 2020 winners celebrate with virtual ceremony

The very best of the paralegal profession was celebrated at the annual National Paralegal Awards hosted live by the Professional Paralegal Register on Friday night. The awards ceremony, which is now in its second year, is now one of the showpiece events in the legal sector calendar, highlighting the important role paralegals play within the legal profession.

The paralegal community from across the country came together at the event, which this year was held virtually, to mark the outstanding achievements of both paralegals and firms that support the sector.

The winners from the 17 categories were announced and a PPR Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Sir Robin Knowles CBE for a life-long commitment to the legal profession and access to justice for every citizen.

Rita Leat, Managing Director of the PPR commented:

“We are hugely humbled by the talent shown by our finalists and winners as the paralegal profession in the UK is one to be very proud of.   We are delighted with the support we received with over 500 people tuning in to watch the event “.

The award winners in full:

Best Family Law Paralegal – Dawn Gore – Trethowans LLP           

Best Employment / HR Paralegal – Morgan Sheldon

Best Patent Paralegal – JoAnna Emery – Pure Ideas

Best Arbitration and Mediation Paralegal – Beth Jameson – Gafta             

Best Conveyancing Paralegal – Emily Miller – Thomas Legal

Best Civil Litigation Paralegal – Philip Nam – White Collar Legal       

Best Probate Research Paralegal – Lauren Geary – Treethorpe 

Best Trade Mark Paralegal – Rachel Bowerman – Lane IP

Best Will Writing Paralegal  – Sharon Baker – Mowll & Mowll                        

Paralegal Business of the Year – Fraser and Fraser      

Will Writing Organisation of the Year – Heritage Wills

Paralegal Recruitment Organisation of the Year – The Stephen James Partnership      

Best Law Firm Paralegal Development -Dentons UK and Middle East            

Paralegal of the Year – Midlands/North – Michelle Blackwell – Bevan Brittan LLP      

Paralegal of the Year – South  – Neil Fraser, Fraser and Fraser

Paralegal of the Year – UK – Neil Fraser, Fraser and Fraser

The judges also awarded highly commended to:

Best Arbitration and Mediation Paralegal – Clive Lewis OBE DL – Globis Mediation Group

Best Conveyancing Paralegal – Aimee Haden – Bevan Brittan LLP  

Best Civil Litigation Paralegal – Helen Laycock – PM Law       

Best Probate Research Paralegal – Matthew Boardman – Anglia Research Services                                            

Best Law Firm Paralegal Development – Addleshaw Goddard

Paralegal of the Year – Midlands/North – Aimee Haden, Bevan Brittan LLP   

Paralegal of the Year – South – Ashleah Skinner                          

Dawn Gore – Trethowans LLP                           

Paige Gouldthorpe – Cozens-Hardy LLP

Sharon Baker – Mowll & Mowll

To watch a playback of the virtual event visit https://youtu.be/tvGchIOFqbY

Thank you to our sponsors and judges for their support to the awards.

To keep updated on the work of the Professional Paralegal Register, Paralegal Conference 2021 and when we will be open for entries for the NPA 2021, please sign up to receive our emails.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0203 039 3710 or [email protected]

September 24, 2020 Member News, Awards, Press Release, Paralegal, Paralegals, PPR 0

Professional Paralegal Register appoints new board member to join the Register’s Regulatory Committee

PRESS RELEASE

The Professional Paralegal Register (PPR) announces that the Board has appointed a new board member Stephen Rippingale-Peters to join the Register’s Regulatory Committee (RRC).

Stephen joins the RRC with over 28 years of experience working in the legal sector and is a professional Paralegal who runs his own businesses specialising in complex investigation on a variety of subject matters both in the UK and overseas. He was the first investigator in a scheme to assist victims of fraud, being piloted by the Home Office and Police, and was engaged over an extended period in the identification of personal assets of a Director following the collapse of a major listed company. Most recently Stephen was responsible for compliance planning and strategy in his role as COFA at a Law Firm.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals and is Registered in Tier 4 on the Professional Paralegal Register.

On his appointment Stephen said “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join the Board of the RRC and I look forward to contributing to the important work of the Board in promoting professional paralegals and building trust and consumer confidence in line with the aims of the Professional Paralegal Register”.

Amanda Lee, Chair of the RRC, commented:
“I am delighted to welcome Stephen to the RRC. His knowledge and experience will allow him to make a valuable contribution from the outset. I look forward to working with him as we continue to uphold the high standards set by the PPR to protect consumers.”

The focus of the RRC is to ensure that as the voluntary register and regulator for Paralegals the PPR operates within good practice principles, ensuring a robust framework of proportionate regulation to maintain the high standards that Paralegals must abide by. The RRC comprises of a non-executive Chair and board members who hear complaints and appeals of paralegals on the register.

Contact

Rita Leat, Managing Director +44 (0) 1442 253183

Abby Dennis, Head of Memberships & Events +44 (0) 7511 306379

Notes for Editor

The Professional Paralegal Register (PPR) was developed in direct response to the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) that recommended a body should come forward to regulate paralegals who are working outside of the regulated sector.

The PPR is the independent voluntary register and regulator for Paralegals in England and Wales.

The PPR has two aims, to provide greater consumer choice and protection and to recognise professionals Paralegals as the fourth arm of the legal profession.

The PPR is a voluntary scheme for Paralegals who do not work in solicitors’ firms and is not governed by the legal services regulator, The Legal Services Board.

The PPR defines Paralegals into four tiers so that Paralegals can be clearly identified and valued for the professionals that they are.

Paralegals on the register must be a member of one of the PPR’s recognised bodies.

The PPR’s Register Regulatory Committee (RRC) can hear complaints relating to conduct only in respect of Registered Paralegals.

Professional Paralegal Practitioners who hold a Paralegal Practising Certificate (PPC) are fully regulated for their conduct and services and clients can utilise a compensation fund when things go wrong.

For further information visit www.ppr.org.uk

June 4, 2020 News, Regulation, Press Release, Paralegal, Paralegals, PPR, Register Regulatory Committee 0

The Paralegal Profession in 2020 - Press Release

In late 2019, TotallyLegal asked over 3,000 legal professionals about the details of their daily working lives for our Audience Insight Report. The responses we received included those from over 300 Paralegals who, at 9% of the total respondents, make up one of the largest groups in our audience.

We looked deeper into the data provided by our Paralegal audience to gain a greater understanding of how these professionals fared in 2019, before looking forward to the state of the profession in 2020 and beyond. With invaluable contributions from Institute of Paralegals’ CEO Rita Leat and practising Paralegal Gemma Williams, we wrote a long-read article exploring the inner workings of the role.

With a fifth of all Paralegals more than 3 years in to their current role and 32% offered a bonus on top of their basic earnings, one of our key findings concerned the growing number of apparent Career Paralegals among our audience. Taking on the fee earning work traditionally reserved for Solicitors and filling the gap left by cuts to legal aid, these professionals aren’t using the role as a stepping-stone to qualification or as a means of gaining experience but are instead choosing to carve out long-term Paralegal careers. In the article, we explore in greater detail why this is the case, before discussing with experts the impact this may have on the profession in the coming years.

Another key issue uncovered by our study is that of pay gaps – both gender and ethnic – within the Paralegal profession. Elsewhere, we look at the practice areas most in need of Paralegal talent and the locations in which Paralegals want to work, before breaking down the different benefits available to Paralegals and revealing which type of employers are most likely to offer them.

Additionally, the article provides the opportunity for practising Paralegals to benchmark their current earnings based on tenure, experience level, location, practice area and more.

If you are a Paralegal looking to discover more about the inner workings of your profession, hoping to see what the future may hold for your role or simply interested in comparing your salary with your contemporaries, TotallyLegal’s The Paralegal Profession in 2020 makes for essential reading.

April 22, 2020 Uncategorized, Press Release, Paralegals, Unregulated Legal Sector 0