LEGAL PARAPROFESSIONALS SURVEY 2011 [FOR PRINCIPALS]

Transcription

1 LEGAL PARAPROFESSIONALS SURVEY 2011 [FOR PRINCIPALS] PRELIMINARY OVERVIEW OF THE PARAPROFESSIONALS SURVEY The survey was deployed on Monday, 07 November The survey link was provided to the respondents through the Legal Services Commission E Newsletter (Issue 2). The Newsletter was sent to managing partners, principals, sole practitioners and ILP directors in Queensland. Only persons with management authority such as Directors/Partners/Senior Associates/Practice Managers/ Human Resources Managers/ or any other person designated with high level management duties within the firm were advised to answer the survey. The total number of responses to this survey is 148, out of which 115 are complete responses. No responses have been received from any Multi disciplinary partnerships. Responses The spread of the completed responses are: Sole Proprietorship 73 Partnership 13 Incorporated Legal Practice 28 Other (Trust) 1 The numbers of firms who employ LEGAL paraprofessionals are: Sole Proprietorship 39 Partnership 10 Incorporated Legal Practice 20 The numbers of firms who charge out Paraprofessionals are: Sole Proprietorship 32 Partnership 8 Incorporated Legal Practice 16 Demographics Question: What is the structure of your firm? The respondents mainly represent three types of Queensland law practice structures Sole Proprietorship, Partnership & Incorporated Legal Practices. 73 (63.5%) of 115 respondents firms are structured as Sole Proprietorship, 28 (24.3 %) as Incorporated Legal Practice (ILP) and 13 (11.3%) as Partnership. One respondent (0.9 per cent) has recorded a law practice structure of a Trust. 1

2 Business structure The majority (75.7%) of the respondents are sole practitioners. 20% of the respondents are small firms with 2 to 5 principals/partners. 3.5% are medium (6 to 12 principals/partners) and 0.9% are large (13 or more principals/partners) firms. Only one firm of the total of 115 respondents is a large firm with 13 or more principals/partners. Question: What is the size of your firm? Size of firm 97.3% of Sole Proprietorship respondents are sole practitioners and 2.7% are small firms with 2 to 5 principals/partners. 84.6% of Partnership respondents are small firms with 2 to 5 principals/partners, 7.7 are medium firms with 6 to 12 principals/partners and 7.7% are large firms with 13 or more principals/partners. 53.6% of ILP respondents are sole practitioners, 35.7% are small firms with 2 to 5 principals/partners and 10.7% are medium firms with 6 to 12 principals/partners. Question: How many practicing certificate (PC) holders are there in your firm? PC holders in firm 85.2% of the respondents have less than 5 practising certificate holders. 10.4% of the respondents have 5 to 10 practising certificate holders, 2.6% have 11 to 20 practising certificate holders and 1.7% are with more than 60 practising certificate holders. Question: What is the postcode of your firm? Location by postcode 53.9% of the 115 respondents are located in the Brisbane & Moreton area excluding Brisbane CBD. 22.6% of the 115 respondents are located in Brisbane CBD [Postcodes 4000 & 4001]. 3.5% of the firms locations are not known. The remainder of the firms are located in regional cities/towns. Question: What are the primary practice areas of your firm? Primary area of practice of the firm The main practice areas of the respondents are the Wills and Estate Planning (53.9%), Conveyancing (53%), Deceased Estates and Trusts (45.2%), Commercial and Company Law (44.3%), Family and De facto Law (39.1%), Litigation (39.1%) and Property Law (40.9%). 2

3 The Other categories of practice areas include Technology, Mediation, Planning and Environment, Energy Law, Mining Compensation, Taxation, Franchising and Medical Negligence. Primary areas of practice by firm structure 19.5% of the respondents are engaged in a single practice area, 36.3% are engaged in 2 to 4 practice areas and 44.2% are engaged in more than 5 practice areas. The main areas of practice for Sole Proprietorship respondents include Conveyancing (56.2%), Wills and Estate Planning (54.8%), Deceased Estates and Trusts (46.6%), Commercial and Company Law (38.4%), Family/De facto Law (35.6%), Litigation (32.9%) and Property Law (35.6%). The main areas of practice for Partnership respondents include Litigation and Wills and Estate Planning (69.2% each), Conveyancing, Deceased Estates & Trusts, Property Law and Family/De facto Law (61.5% each), Commercial & Company Law (53.8% each) and Personal Injury & WorkCover (38.5%). The main areas of practice for ILP respondents include Commercial & Company Law (57.1%), Property Law and Wills and Estate Planning (46.4% each), Conveyancing (42.9%), Family & De facto Law and Litigation (39.3% each) and Bankruptcy and Insolvency (25%). The respondent in the 'Other' category (Trust) is engaged in litigation practice only (100%). The main areas of practice for the Sole Proprietorship, Partnership and ILP respondents are the Wills & Estate Planning, Conveyancing, Family & De facto Law, Commercial and Company Law and Property Law. The ILP respondents' practice in Bankruptcy and Insolvency is at 25% whereas for the Sole Proprietorship and Partnership respondents it is at 2.7% and 7.7% respectively. The least common areas of practice amongst the respondents are the Administrative Law and Immigration/migration Law. The Other category practice areas include Technology, Mediation, Planning and Environment, Energy Law, Mining Compensation, Taxation, Franchising and Medical Negligence. Question: What is your position in the firm? Position in the firm 86.1% of the respondents who answered the survey are the Directors/Partners of the firm; 2.6% are the Practice Managers and 0.9% each are the Senior Associates, General Managers and Human Resources Managers. 7% of the respondents under the 'Other' 3

4 category include the Principals and Sole Practitioners. 1.7% of the respondents positions are unknown. Position in the firm by firm structure 86.3% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents hold the position of Directors/Partners and 1.4% Practice Managers. The Other Sole Proprietorship respondents (9.6%) hold the position of Principals and Sole Practitioners. 84.6% of the Partnership respondents hold the position of Directors/Partners and 7.7% each hold the Human Resources Manager and Practice Manager positions. 89.3% of the ILP respondents hold the position of Directors/Partners and 3.6% each are the Senior Associates, Practice Managers and Human Resources Managers. The respondent in the 'Other' category (Trust) holds the position of Sole Practitioner/Principal. Employment of Paraprofessionals Question: Does your firm employ any LEGAL paraprofessional staff? Employing paraprofessional staff 60% of the respondents (69 firms out of the total 115 firms) do employ LEGAL paraprofessionals (at sometime and not currently). 53.4% of the 73 Sole Proprietorship respondents, 76.9% of the 13 Partnership respondents and 71.4% of the 28 ILP respondents employ LEGAL paraprofessionals. Question: What titles are used by paraprofessionals in your firm? Titles used for paraprofessionals Out of the total number of firms employing paraprofessionals (69), the most common title used for the legal paraprofessionals is Paralegal (55.1%). The other common titles are Legal Secretary (39.1%), Law Clerk (24.6%) and Legal Assistant (21.7 %). No legal paraprofessionals are employed under the titles Legal Executive, Library Technician & Knowledge Manager by any of the respondents. The Other category titles (21.7%) include Conveyancing clerk, Conveyancing manager, Conveyancing officer, CFO, Probate Consultant, Litigation coordinator, Practice Manager, Assistant to (named person) and Conveyancer. 4

5 Titles used for paraprofessionals by firm structure Amongst the 39 Sole Proprietorship respondents, the most common title used is Paralegal (53.8%); the other two most common titles are the Legal Secretary (33.3%) and Law Clerk (30.8%). The title Legal Assistant accounts for 20.5%. The Other category titles for Sole Proprietorship (23.1%) include Conveyancing clerk, Conveyancing manager, Conveyancing officer, CFO, Probate Consultant, Litigation coordinator and Practice Manager. Amongst the 10 Partnership respondents, the most common title used is Paralegal and Legal Secretary (60% each); and, the titles Senior Paralegal, Law Clerk, Legal Assistant, Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee and Precedent Manager accounts for 10% each. The Other category titles for Partnership (30%) include Conveyancing clerk, Graduate and Assistant to (named person). Amongst the 20 ILP respondents, the most common title used is Paralegal (55%); the other titles used are the Legal Secretary (40%), Legal Assistant (30%), Law Graduate (25%), Senior Paralegal and Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee (15% each) and Precedent Manager (10%). The Other category titles for ILP (15%) include Conveyancing Manager and Conveyancer. The titles 'Law Graduate' and 'Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee are more common with the ILP respondents than with the Sole Proprietorship and Partnership respondents. Question: List the categories of specialist paraprofessionals employed by your firm. Categories of specialist paraprofessionals 20.3% of the total 69 respondents employing legal paraprofessionals do not employ any specialist paraprofessionals. 68.1% of respondents employ specialist paraprofessionals in the practice area of Conveyancing. Specialist paraprofessionals are mainly employed in the Conveyancing area of practice under all categories. Question: How many paraprofessionals are employed in your firm? Include both general and specialist categories. Numbers of paraprofessionals employed by firms A total of 233 paraprofessionals are employed by the 69 respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals. The average number of legal paraprofessionals against the total number of respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals (69 firms) is 3.38 per firm. 5

6 The average number of legal paraprofessionals against the total number of Sole Proprietorship respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals (39 firms) is 2.03 per firm. The average number of legal paraprofessionals against the total number of Partnership respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals (10 firms) is 4.9 per firm. The average number of legal paraprofessionals against the total number of ILP respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals (20 firms) is 5.25 per firm. In the employment of legal paraprofessionals ILP respondents have the highest average (5.25) per firm. Question: If possible, please provide the total number of paraprofessionals employed under each job title. Include both general and specialist categories. Total paraprofessionals employed under each job title A total of 233 paraprofessionals are employed by the 69 respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals. 37.3% of the paraprofessionals are legal secretaries, 25.7% paralegals, 8.1% law clerks, 4.7% legal assistants, 3.4% senior paralegals, 3% trainee solicitors/supervised trainees, 2.6% research clerks, 2.1% law graduates, 1.3% precedent managers, 0.9% senior law clerks and 0.4% senior legal assistants. The Other category paraprofessionals (10.3%) include conveyancing managers, conveyancing clerks, conveyancing officers, probate consultants, graduates, practice managers and conveyancers. Total paraprofessionals employed under each job title by firm structure A total of 233 paraprofessionals are employed by the 69 respondents who employ legal paraprofessionals; of these 79 are employed under Sole Proprietorship, 49 under Partnership and 105 under the ILP categories. Of the paraprofessionals employed by Sole Proprietorship respondents, 39.2% are employed as Paralegals and 16.5% as Legal Secretaries. The other paraprofessionals employed are Law Clerks (12.7%), Legal Assistant (6.3%), Senior Paralegal (3.8%), Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee (2.5%), Senior Law Clerk (2.5%), Senior Legal Assistant (1.3%) and Research Clerk (1.3%). The Other category paraprofessionals (13.9%) include Conveyancing managers, Conveyancing clerks, Conveyancing officers, Probate consultants and Practice managers. Of the paraprofessionals employed by Partnership respondents, 42.9% are employed as Legal Secretaries and 20.4% as Paralegals. The other paraprofessionals are employed as Law Clerks (10.2%), Senior Paralegal (4.1%) Legal Assistant, Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee and Precedent Manager (2% each). The Other category paraprofessionals (16.3%) include Graduates. 6

7 Of the paraprofessionals employed by ILP respondents, 50.5% are employed as Legal Secretaries and 18.1% as Paralegals. The other paraprofessionals are employed as Legal Assistants, Research Clerks and Law Graduates (4.8% each), Law Clerks and Trainee Solicitor/Supervised Trainee (3.8% each), Senior Paralegal (2.9%) and Precedent Manager (1.90%). The Other category paraprofessionals (4.8%) include Conveyancing Manager and Conveyancer. The most common titles under which the paraprofessionals are employed are the Legal Secretary, Paralegal and Law Clerk. The Other category titles exhibit a reasonably high percentage under all categories and include titles such as Conveyancing managers, Conveyancing clerks, Conveyancing officers, Probate consultants, Graduates, Practice managers and Conveyancers. None of the respondents employ any paraprofessionals under the titles Legal Executive, Knowledge Manager and Library Technician. Question: Which practice areas use paraprofessionals in your firm? Practice areas using paraprofessionals The major spread of paraprofessionals (68.1%) is in the Conveyancing area of practice; this is followed by Family/De facto Law Practice (23.2%), Wills and Estate Planning (21.7%), Deceased Estates and Trusts (20.3%). Other areas of practice having a spread of 10 to 20% are Property Law and Commercial & Company Law (18.8% each) and Litigation (15.9%). Practice areas using paraprofessionals by firm structure 48.7% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents employ paraprofessionals in one practice area. 25.6% employ them in two practice areas and 10.2% employ in four practice areas. 40% of the Partnership respondents employ paraprofessionals in one practice area; 20% employ them in 5 practice areas and 10% each employ them in 2, 3, 4 and 6 practice areas. 40% of the ILP respondents employ paraprofessionals in one practice area; 20% each employ them in 2 and 3 practice areas and 5% each employ them in 4, 5 and 6 practice areas. Question: What tasks do these paraprofessionals perform? Tasks performed The major task performed by the paraprofessionals relates to Liaison with Clients (82.6%) and with the other side (73.9%). Other major responsibilities include Completion of legal forms (75.4%), Drafting or preparing correspondence or s (71%), Document searches 7

8 (65.2%) and Drafting or preparing legal documents (53.6%). The Other category tasks (8.7%) include book keeping, conveyancing and reception duties. Tasks performed by firm structure For all respondents employing legal paraprofessionals, the major task performed by the paraprofessionals relates to Liaison with Clients and the other side. Other important tasks of paraprofessionals include Completion of Legal Forms, Document Searches, Drafting or preparing correspondence or s. The Sole Proprietorship and Partnership paraprofessionals are engaged in all types work referred to except appearances before administrative agencies. The major tasks for the Partnership paraprofessionals are Liaison with Clients and the other side and completion of legal forms (90% each). Only one ILP respondent out of all respondents (69 firms) has reported appearances before administrative agencies by a paraprofessional. Question: Who supervises the work of the paraprofessionals in your firm? Supervision of paraprofessionals work 60.9% of the respondents have one type of supervisor, 27.5% have two types of supervisors and 8.7% have three types of supervisors. The most common type of supervisor is the Partner/Director (73.9%) followed by Lawyer with more than 5 years PAE (29%). In all the firms employing paraprofessionals, no supervision is done by any legally qualified Paralegal Manager. Supervision of paraprofessionals work by firm structure The work of the paraprofessionals employed by the Sole Proprietorship respondents is mainly supervised by the Partner/Director (79.5%) and Lawyer with 5 years or more PAE (25.6%). The work of the paraprofessionals employed by the Partnership respondents is being supervised by 3 types of personnel only Partner/Director (100%), Lawyer with 5 years or more PAE (50%) and Lawyer with 3 to 5 years PAE (50%). The work of the paraprofessionals employed by ILP respondents is being supervised by Partner/Director (50%), Legal Practitioner Director (ILP) (50%), Lawyer with 5 years or more PAE (25%), Lawyer with 3 to 5 years PAE (15%) and Lawyer with less than 3 years PAE (5%). 8

9 Question: What methods does your firm use to supervise paraprofessional work? Supervision methods Of the firms employing legal paraprofessionals 27.5% of the respondents use 2 methods, 21.7% use 3 methods, 20.3% use 5 methods and 18.8% use 4 methods of supervision. The most common methods of supervision for the respondents employing paraprofessionals are talking with the paraprofessional (85.5%), approving and signing all outgoing correspondence/communications and reviewing all documents (66.7%) and reviewing random files (56.5%). The methods of supervision for other categories (15.9%) include lexon enhanced management review, reviewing all work/files, approving and signing most communications, checking drafts, approving complex correspondence and reviewing all documents, reviewing all calculations, approving and reviewing designated documents and correspondence, use of precedents and systematic file audits. Supervision methods by firm structure 33.3% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents, 30% of the Partnership respondents and 15% of the ILP respondents employing paraprofessionals use two methods of supervision. 20.5% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents, 50% of the Partnership respondents and 10% of the ILP respondents employing paraprofessionals use three methods of supervision. 20.5% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents and 25% of the ILP respondents employing paraprofessionals use four methods of supervision. The most common method of supervision for the Sole Proprietorship respondents are talking with the paraprofessional (82%), approving and signing all outgoing correspondence/communications and reviewing all documents (61.5%) and reviewing random files (48.7%). The most common method of supervision for the Partnership respondents are talking with the paraprofessional (80%), approving and signing all outgoing correspondence /communications and reviewing all documents (60%), diary system of review (50%) and reviewing random files (40%). The most common method of supervision for the ILP respondents employing paraprofessionals are talking with the paraprofessional (95%), approving and signing all outgoing correspondence/communications and reviewing all documents and reviewing random files (80% each) and scheduled supervision meetings (60%) and diary system of review (55%). 9

10 Question: What are the modes in which your firm offers ethical advice to your paraprofessionals? Modes of the firm offering ethical advice to paraprofessionals In house training about ethical issues (59.4%) and Guidance by designated supervisors (55.1%) are the most common methods of offering ethical advice to the paraprofessionals. Other methods of providing ethical guidance is attending Continuing legal education (34.8%), Induction training covering ethical issues (17.4%), Queensland Law Society compulsory ethics units (14.5%), Intranet resources and Designated ethics consultant/partner/solicitor (8.7% each) and Through the Ethics Committee (2.9%). The methods listed in the Other category (5.8%) include discussion/meetings, open forum discussion and attending insurer sessions. Modes of the firm offering ethical advice to paraprofessionals by firm structure Guidance by designated supervisors (56.4%), In house training about ethical issues (51.3%) and Attending continuing legal education (25.6%) are the most common methods of offering ethical advice to paraprofessionals by the Sole Proprietorship respondents. In house training about ethical issues (70%), Guidance by designated supervisors (50%) and Attending continuing legal education (30%) are the most common methods of offering ethical advice to paraprofessionals by the Partnership respondents. In house training about ethical issues (70%), Guidance by designated supervisors and Attending continuing legal education (55% each), Induction training covering ethical issues (30%) are the most common methods of offering ethical advice to paraprofessionals by the ILP respondents. Only the Sole Proprietorship respondents do offer ethical advice through the Ethics Committee (5.1%). One of the Sole Proprietorship respondents (2.6%) has recorded no methods in place for the provision of ethical advice. Designated ethics consultant/partner/solicitor is not a very popular source of providing ethical advice to paraprofessionals by the respondents. Question: Does your firm charge out paraprofessionals in your firm? What is the hourly charge out rate for your paraprofessionals? Charging out of paraprofessionals The total number of respondents to this Survey is 115 firms. 48.7% of these respondents do charge out their paraprofessionals. Out of the total number of 115 respondents, 69 respondents hire legal paraprofessionals and 56 of these respondents charge out their paraprofessionals. 10

11 Out of the 69 respondents that hire legal paraprofessionals, 75.4% charge out all types of paraprofessionals employed by them and 5.8% of the firms charge only some of the paraprofessionals employed. 18.8% of the respondent firms do not charge any of their paraprofessionals. Charging out of paraprofessionals by firm structure Sole Proprietorships The total number of Sole Proprietorship respondents to this Survey is 73 firms. 43.8% of these respondents do charge out their paraprofessionals. Out of the total number of 73 Sole Proprietorship respondents, 39 respondents hire legal paraprofessionals and 32 of these respondents charge out their paraprofessionals. Charging out of paraprofessionals by firm structure Partnership The total number of Partnership respondents to this Survey is 13 firms. 61.5% of these respondents do charge out their paraprofessionals. Out of the total number of 13 Partnership respondents, 10 respondents hire legal paraprofessionals and 8 of these respondents charge out their paraprofessionals. Charging out of paraprofessionals by firm structure ILPs The total number of ILP respondents to this Survey is 28 firms. 57.1% of these respondents do charge out their paraprofessionals. Out of the total number of 28 ILP respondents, 20 respondents hire legal paraprofessionals and 16 of these respondents charge out their paraprofessionals. Charge out rate by firm structure for two of the most commonly charged out paraprofessionals Paralegals The total number of firms hiring paralegals is 34. Out of these 64.7% are charged at the rate of $101 $200, 17.6% are charged at the rate of $51 $100, 8.8% at $201 $300 and 8.8% do not charge. Twenty of the 34 firms hiring paralegals are the Sole Proprietorship respondents. Out of these 55% charge out at $101 $200, 25% charge out at $51 $100, 15% charge out at $ and 5% do not charge. Five of the 34 firms hiring paralegals are the Partnership respondents. Out of these 80% charged out at $101 $200, and 20% do not charge. Nine of the 34 firms hiring paralegals are the ILP respondents. Out of these 77.8% charged out at $101 $200, 11.1% charge out at $51 $100, and 11.1% do not charge. 11

12 Legal Secretary The total number of firms hiring Legal Secretaries is 23. Out of these 30.4% are charged at the rate of $101 $200, 30.4% at $51 $100, 4.3% at $201 $300 and 26.1% do not charge. The charge out rates for two of the respondents (8.7%) is not known. Ten of the 23 firms hiring Legal Secretaries are the Sole Proprietorship respondents. Out of these 30% each are charged out at $101 $200, $51 $100 respectively and 10% charged out at $201 $ of the respondents (30%) do not charge. Six of the 23 firms hiring Legal Secretaries are the Partnership respondents. Out of these 50% charged out at $51 $100, 33.3% at $101 $200, and 16.7% do not charge. Seven of the 23 firms hiring Legal Secretaries are the ILP respondents. Out of these 28.6% charged out at $101 $200, 14.3% charged out at $51 $100 and 28.6% do not charge. The charge out rates for 2 firms (28.6%) is not known. 12

13 Education, Training and Professional Recognition Question: What level of education and/or other criteria must applicants have to be appointed as paraprofessionals in your firm? Levels of education required For the firms employing paraprofessionals Work experience (legal paraprofessional experience) is the most common criteria (75.4%) considered by the respondents in recruiting legal paraprofessionals. The second most common criteria is the Enrolment in or completion of a law degree (24.6%) 11.6% of the respondents consider Paralegal/Paraprofessional education as the required criteria for the appointment of paraprofessionals. No respondent has recorded the Certificate/Diploma in any field as one of the required criteria. Levels of education required by firm structure Work experience (legal paraprofessional experience) is considered the most common criteria for recruiting paralegals by the Sole Proprietorship, Partnership and ILP respondents. Enrolment in or completion of a law degree is considered to be a strong criteria especially by the ILP respondents. Paralegal/Paraprofessional qualification seems to be a stronger criterion for Sole Proprietorship respondents than Partnership and ILP respondents. Question: What is your preferred job title for legal paraprofessional staff? This question was open to all respondents including those who do not employ paraprofessionals. Preferred job title for legal paraprofessional staff 39.8% of the total respondents prefer the job title Paralegal for their paraprofessionals. 20.4% of the respondents prefer the term Legal Assistant. 16.3% of the respondents prefer the term Law Clerk. 21.4% of the respondents have chosen the 'Other' category and their titles recorded therein include: Conveyancing Manager, Legal Secretary, Probate Consultant, Coordinator, Conveyancing Clerk, Assistant to named Solicitor, Conveyancing Secretary, Law Graduate and Clerk. Seventeen of the respondents did not record their preferences as to the title. 13

14 Preferred job title for legal paraprofessional staff by firm structure The 'Other' category respondent (Trust) is included in the Sole Proprietorship category for analysis of this question. 17 of the respondents have not recorded any options relating to the title preferences. 34.2% of Sole Proprietorship, 30.8% of Partnership and 35.7% of ILP respondents prefer the title Paralegal. 20.5% of the Sole Proprietorship and 17.9% of the ILP respondents prefer the title Legal Assistant. None of the Partnership respondents prefer this title. 15.1% of the Sole Proprietorship, 15.4% of Partnership and 10.7% of ILP respondents prefer the title Law Clerk. None of the Partnership and ILP respondents prefer the title Paraprofessional and only 2.7% of the Sole Proprietorship respondents prefer this title. Nine of the Sole Proprietorship respondents (12.3%), one Partnership (7.7%) and 7 ILP respondents (25%) have not recorded their option of titles. 15.1% of Sole Proprietorship, 46.1% of Partnership and 10.7% of ILP respondents have chosen the 'Other' category option and the titles recorded therein include: Convenyancing Manager, Legal Secretary, Probate Consultant, Co ordinator, Conveyancing Clerk, Assistant to Secretary, Law Graduate and Clerk. Other comments include 'varied dependent on role by an ILP respondent and 'different titles for different roles' by a Sole Proprietorship respondent'. Of the Sole Proprietorship, Partnership and ILP respondents, the Partnership respondents do not seem to have a strong view on preferences relating to titles; their highest percentage relating to specified options falls under the 'Other' category. Their choices of title under the Other category include Assistant to named Solicitor, Trainee Solicitor, Conveyancing Secretary, Legal Secretary/Conveyancing Clerk and 'no preference depends on the person, whether they have studied or are studying law. Question: Why do you prefer this title? * Please give specific reasons. * The preferred job title for the legal paraprofessionals. This question was open to all respondents including those who do not employ paraprofessionals. This question [open text box] was open to all respondents (115 firms) including those who do not employ paralegals. Some of the responses grouped as they relate to three specific titles are: 14

15 PARALEGAL General acceptance in the Profession and Clients Traditional Well known term for experience staff who are not qualified solicitors Accepted job title It is an established description that is comprehensible to the Client who understands that the person they are dealing with is not admitted to practice It makes their position clear that they are not a qualified lawyer but have technical skills in the area in which they work Fairly nebulous Generally recognised and no problem with clients confusing it with a qualified lawyer Descriptive of tasks undertaken It sounds more professional than the other titles while still referring to the legal profession LEGAL ASSISTANT It best describes what they do. I don't like "para" anything. Clerk is becoming too old school Identify as non practitioner support staff to clients but experienced in this area As it reflects the true nature of their role as assisting the solicitor or principal Indicates provides legal assistance para legal may not be commonly understood Understanding by the market/clients that the person is not a practitioner It is the least likely to be confused by lay people with someone qualified to give legal advice. LAW CLERK I prefer clerk to assistant as it distinguishes a clerk from administrative staff. I dislike the term paralegal because most clients do not understand it. A generic term limited legal knowledge as required for role Describes who they are, ie no legal qualifications but (allegedly) working under supervision More relevant to legal practitioner I prefer this as it indicates a basis in the law. In the past we have used paralegal as a title also depending on whether the person has or is completing a law degree. Gives the client the impression that the staff member has legal knowledge without being a qualified solicitor Question: Are you in favour of a PROFESSIONAL TITLE such as 'Certified Paralegal/Legal Assistant', 'Registered Paralegal/Legal Assistant' etc to be conferred on legal paraprofessionals subject to prescribed standards relating to education, work experience etc? Please Comment. This question was open to all respondents including those who do not employ paraprofessionals. 15

16 This question [open text box] was open to all respondents (115 firms) including those who do not employ paralegals. Some of the responses grouped based on firm structure are: SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP Yes that would be good. It would provide recognition to people who have the capacity to do the work who do not have tertiary qualifications. Not sure. In some ways it will just add to bureaucracy and unnecessary (and probably not very useful) training. Although, it would provide some comfort to clients who deal with legal assistants. No, because there is a wide range of these roles in the existing workforce. Different terms should be used to reflect their different roles, eg, 'law clerk' is not inappropriate for a law student in training, 'paralegal' is fine for a secretary who has been promoted to filling in forms. Yes people dealing with paralegal knows they are dealing with someone who is trained and should know what they are doing I think that could be of benefit to our profession. A number of staff at our office I believe would undertake training in order to be professionally recognised in the role they are in. It would also allow persons who come into contact with those using a professional title to assume a certain level of skill / knowledge from that individual. Yes. It would assist training and ensure consistent competency. No. I prefer to set my own standards for my staff and recognise their achievements as I think appropriate. I do not believe that any form of centralised testing necessarily identifies the talents of individuals. I do think that any completed courses should be recognised. No. I consider there is a danger of creating a second class tier of solicitors by professionally recognising the qualifications of paralegals. PARTNERSHIP I have no problem with such titles provided they follow a course of study not just attendance at an occasional seminar or viewing some DVD's Yes, besides ensuring better training, it also is seen to provide these persons with some more formal recognition and status. No. Trainee solicitor is appropriate. yes provided consistent standards are maintained and the qualifications are appropriate No. It will only be used by regulators to impose conditions on practice and by insurers to increase liability insurance premiums. It is hard enough now to make money practising law without having more meaningless regulation imposed upon us. INCORPORATED LEGAL PRACTICE [ILP] Yes. I think this is an area that needs cleaning up in the legal profession. The title Paralegal could be used in a misleading manner. Yes, excellent idea as currently anyone can call themselves paralegal. Creates uniformity and standard that clients can relate to. 16

17 Yes with some certainty regarding definition of what these roles/positions would entail, then i think that would be a good thing (for both prospective employers and clients) Yes, so that an appropriate description is given for each staff member Question: Are there any comments you would like to add. This question [open text box] was open to all respondents (115 firms) including those who do not employ paralegals. Some of the responses are: Certification is another layer of administration which adds to the cost of supplying legal services Firms employing non legally qualified staff should be obliged to make it very clear to prospective clients that their work will be done by non legally qualified staff and (if it be the case) only supervised by a lawyer. Where there are a large no of unqualified staff and only minimal (if any) supervision possible then clients should know they are retaining clerks, not lawyers Consider regulating the position such that only persons with suitable qualifications/experience can hold themselves out as a paralegal, that is, make it a protected title I think streamlining the titles is a good idea from a consumer perspective as they can compare apples and apples so to speak. I think streamlining the titles is a good idea from a consumer perspective as they can compare apples and apples so to speak. 17