Law Firms looking to hire more paralegals

A survey by Skills for Justice has revealed that over the next five years, law firms are looking to increase the number of paralegals they employ by 18 per cent. 51 firms took part in the survey and between them they hire a total of 2,143 paralegals. From the results of the survey, it is estimated that the number of paralegal positions at these firms is set to increase to 2,522 over five years.

Perhaps more revelatory is the finding that 83 per cent of the firms would be interested in taking on apprentices. The news comes just as the legal profession has announced a £1m cash injection from the government to launch 750 apprenticeships by 2015.