A firm covering a gap with both a locum solicitor and outsourced paralegal support needs to be clear about one thing: who is directing the paralegal’s work.
How does this arrangement work in practice?
The locum solicitor, once instructed and in place, directs the paralegal’s work on that file exactly as a permanent fee earner would, with instructions and sign-off flowing through the same channel described on our How It Works page.
Where does this need care?
Handover clarity. The paralegal needs a clear, current point of instruction, and that shifts if a locum starts partway through a matter the paralegal was already supporting, a transition also relevant to the leave cover discussed in our parental and sick leave article.
What stays constant regardless of who is directing?
Supervision and responsibility sit with whichever authorised individual is currently carrying on the matter, locum or permanent, consistent with the principles in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2026] EWCA Civ 369.
What does the handover actually look like mid-matter?
A written briefing from the outgoing fee earner to the incoming locum, covering where the file stands, what the paralegal has already been instructed to do, and what’s still outstanding. That handover note matters more than any other single document in the transition, since it’s what lets the paralegal keep working without a gap in instruction.
The same discipline applies whether the change is a locum arriving or a permanent fee earner returning from leave: continuity depends on the handover being explicit, not assumed.
How does supervision responsibility formally transfer?
The moment the locum is instructed and takes conduct of the matter, they become the authorised individual directing the paralegal’s work, consistent with the position confirmed in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2026] EWCA Civ 369. Responsibility doesn’t sit in limbo between the two fee earners; it’s always clearly held by whoever currently has conduct.
Firms should confirm this explicitly in the locum’s engagement letter, so there’s no ambiguity about who’s accountable for the paralegal’s output from that point forward.
What if the locum and the paralegal’s original instructions don’t align?
The locum’s current instructions take precedence, since they hold conduct of the matter. Any conflict between old and new instructions should be resolved quickly and in writing, ideally before the paralegal picks up the next task, so nothing gets actioned against stale direction.
This is exactly the kind of situation where a clear escalation habit matters, flagging the discrepancy rather than guessing which instruction to follow, a point also covered in our provider selection guide.
Does running both a locum and outsourced paralegal cost more than either alone?
Not necessarily. A locum’s day rate covers the fee-earning judgment a firm still needs; the outsourced paralegal, at the fixed rates on our Pricing page, covers the supporting work underneath it. Running both together on a single matter is often cheaper than a locum handling everything alone, since the paralegal absorbs the lower-value tasks a locum would otherwise bill for at their own rate.
The combination tends to work out cheaper than it sounds at first, precisely because the two roles aren’t duplicating each other’s work.
What should be documented before this arrangement starts?
Who directs the paralegal day to day, how instructions are logged, and what happens to that arrangement if the locum placement ends before the matter concludes. The engagement’s data processing agreement and access-control terms should also be checked to confirm the locum is included in the same matter-limited access as the substantive fee earner.
Getting this down in writing before work starts avoids exactly the kind of ambiguity that causes problems later in the matter.
Where can a firm get help setting this up?
Our contact page is the quickest way to talk through a specific locum-plus-paralegal arrangement, particularly if the matter is already partway through and a handover needs to happen quickly.
What’s the risk if the handover isn’t managed properly?
Instructions get followed that are no longer current, deadlines get missed because nobody confirmed who owns them, and a paralegal ends up guessing rather than working from clear direction. On a filing deadline or disclosure task, that kind of gap is exactly where things go wrong under time pressure.
None of this is inevitable. It’s a documentation problem, and it’s solvable with a short handover note at the point the locum takes over, not a structural flaw in running a locum and outsourced paralegal together.
Does this work for a longer locum placement, like maternity cover?
Yes, and arguably it’s where the arrangement earns its keep most. A locum covering several months of parental leave benefits from a paralegal who already knows the firm’s file conventions, since the paralegal often provides more continuity across the placement than the locum does. The paralegal becomes the constant; the locum is the one who changes.
That continuity is worth planning for explicitly rather than assuming it’ll happen by default.
Who signs off on work the paralegal produces during this period?
Whoever currently holds conduct of the matter, which during the placement is the locum. That sign-off chain shouldn’t loop back to the substantive fee earner while they’re away, since that defeats the purpose of bringing in cover in the first place.
Firms sometimes get this wrong by leaving the absent fee earner nominally responsible for sign-off. It’s cleaner, and more accurate to how SRA supervision requirements actually work, to transfer that responsibility to the locum in full for the duration.
Does the paralegal need separate onboarding for the locum, or does the original relationship carry over?
The underlying arrangement with the paralegal or team doesn’t need to be rebuilt from scratch. What changes is who the paralegal takes instruction from, which is a briefing conversation rather than a full onboarding cycle. Our article on embedded support covers how that relationship persists across changes on the firm’s side.
That continuity is one of the practical advantages of a dedicated arrangement over ad hoc temporary cover arranged separately each time.
What happens once the locum placement ends?
Conduct and supervision transfer back to the returning or newly appointed fee earner, with the same handover discipline running in reverse: a note on where the file stands, what’s outstanding, and what the paralegal has been instructed to do most recently. That closes the loop cleanly, without instructions getting lost in the transition back.
Does the client need to know this arrangement is running?
Not in any detail beyond what a firm would normally disclose about who’s handling their matter. The client’s relationship is with the firm, and who directs the supporting work behind the scenes, locum or permanent fee earner, doesn’t change that. What matters to the client is that someone authorised remains accountable throughout, which this arrangement is built to guarantee.
Is this arrangement suitable for litigation matters with active deadlines?
Yes, provided the handover is tight. A litigation file with live deadlines is exactly where clear instruction matters most, since a paralegal working from stale direction on a time-sensitive task creates real exposure. It’s also where the benefit is most visible: a locum picking up a busy caseload with a paralegal already familiar with the file loses far less time than one starting completely cold.
What’s the simplest way to set this up correctly from the start?
Agree the reporting line before the locum starts, not after. A short paragraph in the locum’s engagement letter confirming that the outsourced paralegal reports to them for the duration removes almost all of the ambiguity this article has covered. Everything else, handover notes, sign-off, escalation, follows naturally once that single line is settled.
Does this only apply to sole practitioners bringing in a locum?
No, it applies just as much to a small firm covering one partner’s absence while the rest of the practice continues as normal. The same principle, one clearly authorised individual directing the paralegal at any given time, holds regardless of firm size or how many other fee earners are unaffected by the change.
The scale changes; the discipline of one clear line of instruction at any given moment doesn’t.
Talk it through with us before the locum’s first day if there’s any uncertainty about how the handover should read.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who briefs the paralegal once a locum solicitor takes over a matter?
The locum, once formally instructed, becomes the point of instruction, with a clear handover to ensure continuity for the paralegal.
Does using both a locum and outsourced paralegal cost more than either alone?
Both are typically priced independently, a locum’s day rate and the outsourced paralegal’s flat monthly fee, scoped to what each gap actually requires.
Can a paralegal continue working a file after a locum’s cover period ends?
Yes, instruction simply passes back to the returning or permanent fee earner, with the same continuity maintained throughout.
