News/Events

Legalex 2015 is the first national event and conference for the legal profession which is entirely focused on the business behind law. The event offers a wonderful opportunity to attend educational seminars, network with your peers and meet suppliers to the industry. You can register for free tickets by visiting www.legalex.co.uk.

ILSPA not only supports Legalex but is also holding a seminar in the practice management theatre on 14 May titled “The Legal Secretary Is One of Your Greatest Assets”. One of our tutors, Seamus Ryan, will be talking about the value of developing the Legal Secretary role and how this helps firms to optimise their performance. 

The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs is pleased to announce the winner of our 2015 Scholarship. Congratulations to Karina Gindhay, who has successfully gained a place on our Legal Secretaries Diploma course.

We received a good selection of applications for our scholarship, but Karina Gindhay shone out above the rest. Karina made a particularly special effort to tell us about her background, why she wanted to study on ILSPA’s course and what gaining the qualification would mean to her. 

In an ever-changing legal landscape, the traditional attitude to legal services has been turned on its head. The main reason behind this is the requirement to comply with the regulatory objectives of the Legal Services Act 2007. The prime objective of this statute is to open up the legal services sector, making legal services more accessible and less costly to the consumer.

Three of the statute’s eight specific objectives are improving access to justice, promoting competition and increasing public understanding of legal rights.

With the virtual eradication of legal aid, there is a huge gap. The public will, now more than ever before, need cost-effective and accessible legal advice and assistance. Paralegals are now filling that gap.

The UK Legal Services market is undergoing dramatic transformations instigated by various influences, including market liberalisation, technological developments, new business structures and an increasingly knowledgeable and professionally demanding calibre of client. 

ILSPA is proud to support the LegalEx exhibition and conference, which is entirely dedicated to the business needs of your legal firm, and designed to drive growth and efficiency. Our Tutor, Seamus Ryan, will be speaking at the event about why the Legal Secretary is such an important asset to a firm. You can view information about the talk here: http://www.legalex.co.uk/speakers/seamus-ryan/.

We are delighted to announce that Megan James has secured a permanent contract with the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs as our Senior Administrator. Megan started working for us in August 2014 in an administrative role. We have been very impressed by her performance and professionalism over the past six months. She has dealt with her duties and responsibilities with great efficiency and has an excellent work ethic. Within a short period of time, we could see she was a very competent member of the team and capable of taking on more responsibility in the company. Well done, Megan!

Megan has answered some questions about her background and told us about her experience working for ILSPA so far:

What attracted you to work for ILSPA?

Legal Secretaries are being invited to join a new social networking site for the legal services sector.

Mootis – mootis.co.uk – has been launched by award-winning silk Bill Braithwaite QC. 

Commenting on the launch of Mootis, Chairman Bill Braithwaite QC said:

“Sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook are hugely successful, but we feel the world of legal services is large enough to warrant its own bespoke platform.”

In terms of the legal sector, Braithwaite says Mootis will appeal to two audiences: those already registered with sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and those who are yet to engage with the world of social media. 

“It’s got dual appeal,” he continued. “We believe existing social media users will welcome the benefits of a site focused entirely on legal services.

We are delighted to announce our new Scholarship Scheme which will enable one Student each year to study our Legal Secretaries Diploma course for free. ILSPA would like to offer financial support to someone who may not be able to fund the course themselves, enabling him or her to have a successful Legal Secretary career.

Occasionally we receive enquiries from people who want to better themselves and have a good career by studying the Legal Secretaries Diploma course, but they are unable to afford the course fees.  By introducing the scholarship scheme, we will be able to give someone the opportunity to enrol for our course without having the worry of the financial commitment.

The British Legal Awards took place on 27 November 2014 and it was the highlight of the legal calendar. The awards are an annual showcase for the greatest achievements made each year by law firms operating in the United Kingdom. This provides a chance to reward lawyers for their hard work and contribution to the British economy as well as recognition of the innovative and varied work they carry out on a day-to-day basis. 

The winners of the awards reflect the diversity of the legal sector in the UK and prove that the awards really do celebrate the variety of contributions made by British legal teams each year. This year, winners included firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper and Berwin Leighton Paisner. The difference in the size and specialties of the winning firms demonstrated the variety within the legal sector in the UK. 

M&C Saatchi’s Stuart Martin was announced as the winner of the 2014 PA of the Year Awards, hosted by SecsintheCity, the UK’s #1 job site for PAs and Executive Assistants.

The announcement was made at a prestigious Awards ceremony, held at the The Ivy Restaurant on Thursday 6 November 2014.

The winners of the PA of the Year Awards 2014 are:

-    PA of the Year – Stuart Martin, M&C Saatchi
-    Social Networking PA of the Year – Katie McEwan, Ann Summers
-    Legal PA of the Year – Rachel Newman, Hogan Lovells International
-    Interim PA of the Year – Rowan Forman, Threadneedle Investments

Stuart Martin is PA to the Group Executive Creative Director at M&C Saatchi.  

Stuart said: “It's an absolute privilege to have won this award and have the opportunity to be representing male Personal Assistants that work in this industry. 

Emma Stacey has been working at ILSPA for 10 years and celebrated this wonderful milestone at an organic restaurant near the head office at Dartington Hall at the end of November. She started in November 2004 and has had a big hand in the growth of the Institute over the years, helping it become what it is today. Emma answered some questions so you could find out more.

What was it like taking on the role of Chief Executive at ILSPA?