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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-Percent Legal Recruitment

Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.

Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession.

www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersshop

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Jonathan Fagan,

I recently received an email and a call from a firm that offered a paralegal training that would cost £9,500.

I was immediately skeptical of the prospect. Is this normal I would have thought that a firm who trains me and offers me employment would take the cost of training AFTER the training is complete, for example from salary.
13 June 2012 at 21:34
Anonymous said…
Yep I would pay this. You would have to pay 10k for your LPC anyway and the chances of getting training contract lower than a 2:1 is impossible...go for it !
4 July 2012 at 14:41
paralegal said…
I've heard a lot of stories like that. I wonder why the issue hasn't been resolve yet!
10 August 2012 at 10:04
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