ABSTRACT
Legal work involves a great many different personnel, who perform widely varying roles. In the course of your involvement with the law you may encounter 'paralegal' workers, qualified legal executives, licensed conveyancers, notaries and different types of legal clerks. 'Paralegal' is a term difficult to define precisely. Many of the personnel who work in a law firm may have a job title of this description; but they may or may not have any formal legal qualifications. Consideration should be given to the role of voluntary quality schemes in assuring the standards of independent paralegal providers outside the existing scheme of regulation. Solicitors in private practice are generally regarded as more accessible to the public than barristers, solicitors' firms being found in the high streets of every town. Previously, solicitors had enjoyed a complete monopoly in matters of conveyancing but, in 1985, the first significant change in the work of solicitors occurred.
