Paying for Paralegal Posts and Training Contracts - a damning indictment on the profession or the way forward?
I have just received an email from a graduate requesting advice who has been invited to attend an interview for a job as a paralegal with a firm of solicitors. The graduate has been informed that she has got to pay them £9,000 to be considered for this role. This gets her 6 months of paralegal training, a funded LPC and possible training contract. In fact it seems the firm offer access to up to 40 training contracts, although it is not clear exactly how this works. As far as I understand it, this activity is not only against employment regulations, but is also a criminal offence. It is a little too similar, in my opinion, to recruitment agencies charging candidates for their recruitment services. I have come across firms in Yorkshire charging up to £30,000 for a training contract, but I have never heard of one blatantly advertising the charges up front before an interview. Is this the new level to which the profession has stooped? Jonathan Fagan , MD, Ten-Pe...