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In practice: Why clarity matters

24 November 2023 / Amanda Hamilton
Issue: 8050 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Amanda Hamilton offers some valuable advice on developing a career as a paralegal

It is vital that paralegals understand what they can and cannot do.

Paralegals must always be transparent and communicate clearly with their clients.

Gaining Ofqual recognised qualifications can be a real boost to a paralegal’s career.


As a paralegal practitioner, one of the most important issues to bear in mind when offering legal services to consumers, is to ensure that you are not ‘holding out’. This is when you give an impression either by inference or omission or expressly, that you are anything other than a paralegal.

Such an impression can be made verbally or written on a business card or on your website. It is vital that you make it clear to any prospective client that you are a paralegal rather than a solicitor or barrister and as such, there are limits to what you can do for them. These limits which are out of bounds to a paralegal, are what is known as ‘reserved activities’

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NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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