The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has completed its acquisition of the Institute of Paralegals (IoP) and its voluntary regulator the Professional Paralegals Register (PPR), the former announced on Monday morning.
CILEX said the move is intended to “boost consumer confidence” in legal services through ensuring paralegals are appropriately experienced, trained, and regulated.
2023 will see a phased transition integrating IoP members into CILEX membership. Their IoP status and membership will be retained alongside the benefits of joining 12,000 other paralegals as CILEX members.
CILEX chief executive Linda Ford said the two organisations have a “shared vision” for the importance of the paralegal’s role, adding CILEX was the “natural choice” to take the IoP and PPR forward.
Rita Leat, IoP Chief Executive, will work with CILEX as a special adviser throughout 2023. She said:
“It has been an absolute privilege to represent and champion paralegals as the chief executive of the IoP, but in the interests of its members, the time is right to hand it over to an organisation that can further progress the career of paralegals.
CILEX is the perfect organisation to build on the IoP’s success and I am excited to see what 2023 will bring.”
The IoP, founded in 2005, has around 1,000 members, 44% of which work in law firms with the rest working in a wide variety of settings such as companies, local and public authorities, and charities.
