Paralegals - role in outline

‘Paralegal’	Junior to solicitors and supervised by them at work, can become fully-fledged solicitor by following ILEX training route and passing the necessary exams. Entry qualification 5 GCSE’s
Pearless De Rougemont v Pilbrow (1999) CA	Legal executives are junior to solicitors. This point illustrated in this Court of Appeal case. Rule 15 Law Society Practice Rules requires that a client is told the status of the person doing work for him.
Administration of Justice Act 1985 and the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990	Put licensed conveyancers and legal executives on a statutory footing.
Legal Executives
Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) is recognised as the third branch of the legal profession	ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives) is the professional body that represents Legal Executives and trainee Legal Executives, it has over 22,000 members. It was established in 1963 with the support of the Law Society. Legal Executives are professional lawyers, who have qualified by studying and working at the same time. They have their own recognised status and role within the legal profession, working in law firms, government departments and private companies. Their day to day work is similar to that of a solicitor, although the training and qualifications are different.
What is a Legal Executive?	Legal Executives are qualified lawyers specialising in a particular area of law. They have passed the ILEX Professional Qualification in Law in an area of legal practice to the same level as that required of solicitors, and have had at least five years' experience of working under the supervision of a solicitor in legal practice or in the legal department of a private company or local/ national government.
What do Legal Executives do?	Specialising in a particular area of law, their day-to-day work is similar to that of solicitors. Legal Executives are fee earners - in private practice their work is charged directly to clients - making a direct contribution to the income of a law firm. They: handle legal aspects of a property transfer assist in the formation of a company are involved in actions in the High Court or county courts draft wills advise clients accused of serious or petty crime, or families with matrimonial problems advise on many other matters affecting people in their domestic and business affairs.
ILEX grants rights of audience Current Rights of Audience	ILEX became an "authorised body" for the purpose of granting rights of audience to legal executives in April 1998. It grants limited rights of audience in the lower courts but cannot grant full rights of audience to its members. There are now 25 Legal Executive Advocates who can undertake advocacy in civil and family proceedings in open court in county and magistrates' courts. Any matter in which the liberty of the subject might be at issue is excluded, and the rights in county courts are limited to matters within the jurisdiction of a District Judge. There are also rights to appear before most tribunals and the option to obtain a further certificate for Coroners' Court proceedings. These rights are additional to existing rights to appear in Chambers in county courts and the High Court. An application to extend rights of audience in three areas (Civil, Family and Criminal Proceedings) is being considered by the Secretary of State.
From the end of 2006 ILEX rights of audience will be extended	The Lord Chancellor has granted extended rights of audience to legal executives. Members of The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) will be able to appear in criminal proceedings in the magistrates and youth courts, and on bail applications in the crown court. Further enhanced are their rights in family and civil proceedings. Information about ILEX rights of audience here.
Membership and Diversity	ILEX has a membership of approximately 29,000, of whom 6,752 are Fellows. Just under 68 per cent of ILEX Fellows are women and at least 2.5 per cent come from a minority ethnic background (71 per cent of Fellows are recorded as white and 26 per cent did not record their ethnicity). No data is currently kept on disability.
Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys
What is a Patent Attorney?	Most patent applications in the UK are submitted by Patent Attorneys on behalf of clients. A Patent Attorney files applications to register a trade mark at the Trade Marks Registry and applications to register designs at the Designs Registry (both of which are part of the Patent Office). The Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA) is the professional body representing Patent Attorneys in the UK. The institute was founded in 1882 and was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1891. It represents almost all the 1,500 registered patent attorneys in the UK. Total membership is over 3,000 and includes trainee patent attorneys and other professionals with an interest in intellectual property matters.
What is a Trade Mark Attorney?	A Trade Mark Attorney gives specialised legal advice and assistance on the selection, registration, protection and exploitation of trademarks and brands as well as designs. The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA), established in 1934, is the professional body for trade mark attorneys in the United Kingdom. ITMA represents national and international clients in registered trade mark and registered design matters before the UK Patent Office and before the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. It also administers the Register of Trade Mark Agents. The institute has recently been designated as an authorised body under the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. It is common for Members of CIPA and ITMA to be dual-qualified as members of both bodies.
Rights of Audience	CIPA: CIPA members have full rights of audience to appear in the Patents Court (Chancery Division of the High Court) on appeals from the Patent Office, and can conduct litigation and act as advocates in the Patents County Court. CIPA members can also acquire an additional qualification (Litigator's Certificate) entitling them to conduct all forms of intellectual property litigation in all the various courts (including the Patents Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords). ITMA: Since 1 April 2005, duly certified ITMA members have litigation and full audience rights in county courts in Trade Mark and Design litigation, and litigation rights together with limited audience rights in the High Court in such cases.
Membership and Diversity	CIPA (Register of Patent Agents) 1,153 Patents Agents have been on the register for more than five years, of whom 190 (17 per cent) are women. The figure for 10 years' service is 912, of whom 124 (14 per cent) are women. No figures are currently kept on ethnicity or disability. ITMA ITMA has a membership of 521, of whom 183 are women (35 per cent). No figures are currently kept on ethnicity or disability.
Licensed Conveyancers
Council for Licensed Conveyancers Web site here	Regulates those employed solely to convey (transfer) legal title to property. (do the legal side of house buying and selling).
Administration of Justice Act 1985	Took away the monopoly of professional conveyancing services from solicitors and gave the customer a choice to use a Licensed Conveyancer. Protection for client the same as if a solicitor was used. Have to be professionally qualified, that is pass the necessary exams Carry Professional Indemnity Insurance.
Licensed Probate providers
Since December 2004 probate can be carried out by non-solicitors	Providers can offer probate services for a fee. Previously, only a solicitor, barrister or duly certified notary public could charge for providing probate services. The provider must be a member of a body that have been approved by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs will be able to offer these services to the public. The Legal Services Ombudsman will have an oversight role for bodies authorised by the Secretary of State to offer probate services and members of the public will be able to take a complaint to the Ombudsman after going through the complaints procedures established by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Effective by s55 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. Probate is: When a person dies their estate (money, property and possessions) has to be deal with by collecting in all monies, paying any debts and distributing what is left to those people legally entitled to it. In order for a person (or persons) to get the required authority to do this, they usually need to obtain a legal document called a Grant of Representation (either a Grant of Probate or a Grant of Letters of Administration) from the Probate Registry. While most probate transactions are carried out by solicitors, it is possible for a person to carry this out on their own behalf. They are not allowed to do the work for payment.