About Us

The IoP is the leading authority on the development and standing of Paralegals
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Mission, Vision & Values

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Who We Are


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What We do


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Governance


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Our People

Who we are


The Institute of Paralegals (IoP) is the only Institute for paralegals in the UK.  We are an international professional membership body that connects individuals with the shared purpose of providing professional legal services. 

We are the voice of the professional paralegal profession.

 Rita Leat - Chief Executive

Rita Leat took up post as the COO for The National Association of Licensed Paralegals in 2011 managing the strategic and operational functions of the organisation. She added to her role in 2013 by becoming the Responsible Officer for Ofqual, dealing with compliance. She became a founder Director of The Professional Paralegal Register in 2014 and the Institute’s of Paralegals Chief Executive in May 2017. Her early career was in teaching and lecturing in Law, where she held a variety of posts including delivery on the LL.B. and other post-graduate courses. As a legal editor for five years at ILEX, she enhanced her skills for developing legal qualifications for the Paralegal sector.  From 2007 to 2009 she utilised her commercial law expertise as a commercial lawyer for GlaxoSmithKline.  Her role as the Chief Executive of the IoP encompasses the strategic development of a professional membership body for paralegals.

 Ian Grant - Director of Operations

Ian is Director of Operations at the Institute of Paralegals who became a lawyer in 1994. Since that period Ian has pursued a career in the law that has covered a variety of teaching and writing. He has taught extensively to trainee lawyers on a variety of legal and practice subjects for colleges, universities and government agencies. His area of knowledge includes civil and criminal litigation, the law of torts contract and immigration law. His main area of expertise however has focused on Wills, Trusts, Tax, and Probate which he has taught, practiced law in and written texts on.

Carmen Nadolu - Head of Membership Experience

 

Carmen studied Law at a Romanian University and worked as a lawyer for five years in law firm before relocating to the UK.  She took the post as the Head of Membership Experience of the IoP in J 2015, and her job is to lead on the development and management of the IoP’s Membership. She actively contributes to developing programs, initiatives, and policies designed to increase membership and she creates, updates, and distributes information to current members as well as prospective members.

Neil Newman - Director of Development and Innovation

Neil is Director of Development and Innovation at the IoP. He is responsible for the strategic global growth and development of membership and communications at IoP ensuring the Institute continues to connect effectively with the profession. Prior to joining the IoP Neil worked at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) as Director of Communications and Membership. He was responsible for the strategic leadership on all aspects of membership development, international conferences,  communications and a global network of 41 branches. Neil was responsible for the successful implementation of CIArb’s segmentation strategy allowing CIArb to grow and expand its offering to a wider international audience. Neil also worked at one of the largest accountancy bodies in the UK, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) for over ten years.

Mia Wilson - Business Administration Coordinator

Mia joined the IoP in March 2020 after attending college where she studied Art, Finance and History.  Her role as Business Administrator Coordinator consists of providing support to the team at IoP.  As an apprentice, Mia also works on her studies part time to complete her Level 3 Qualification in Business Administration. In her spare time Mia enjoys making art and music.

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