On 11 March 2010, the National Association of Licensed Paralegals held a special event at the House of Commons to mark their 23rd anniversary and to present awards to their highest achieving Students of the year. Since 1987, the National Association of Licensed Paralegals has dedicated itself to the promoting the status of Paralegals and paralegal training in the United Kingdom and abroad. NALP is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual, the regulator of qualifications in England, and has accredited our courses.
ILSPA were delighted to attend the event. We were greeted with a lovely champagne and canapés reception and had the opportunity to mingle with NALP and its Students before the awards ceremony took place. The House of Commons is a breathtaking building. The body evolved in the 14th century to serve as the political power base and voice for the free subjects of the realm, originally selected from the business and merchant classes of each local area to represent all the Sovereign’s subjects who were not Lords.
Amanda Hamilton, Chief Executive of NALP and the Senior Tutor for ILSPA, led the event together with Fabien Hamilton, Labour MP. They gave interesting talks about the progression of NALP over the years and how the organisation has helped people with their Paralegal careers, at various different levels.
The highest-achieving Students from the Higher Certificate in Paralegal Studies, Post Graduate Diploma, Fellowship Award and Degree Programme came with friends and family and proudly accepted their stylish awards. It was fantastic to see such dedicated Students congratulated for all the hard work they had put in.
At the end of the ceremony, a very prestigious lifetime achievement award was given to John Stacey-Hibbert, Patron of the Institute, for his contribution to the legal profession. John was thrilled and gave a captivating speech about his career – he started practising as a Solicitor in London in the 1960s and went on to run a successful Licensed Conveyancing business in the 1970s. John started teaching law in the 1990s and at the same time, he became General Secretary of the National Association of Paralegals. He expanded the organisation to provide a range of comprehensive and beneficial qualifications for people interested in becoming Paralegals, and helped to introduce licensing.
If you are interested in advancing your career and becoming a Paralegal, we highly recommend NALP’s courses. You can view their website at www.nationalparalegals.co.uk.
Pictured is John Stacey-Hibbert accepting his award from Amanda Hamilton.