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RITA LEAT
LEGAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Rita Leat has spent more than 25 years at the heart of the legal sector, and is widely regarded as one of its most influential champions of professional standards and career development. Her experience spans commercial law, legal education, and executive leadership, giving her a rare, rounded understanding of how legal businesses grow, and what holds them back.
Rita cofounded the Institute of Paralegals (IoP), the government recognised professional body for paralegals in England and Wales, and served as its Chief Executive. Under her leadership, the IoP was modernised and its membership grew to more than 1,000 legal professionals working across law firms, in-house teams, charities, and public bodies.
Recognising the need for greater consumer protection and professional recognition, Rita went on to create the Professional Paralegal Register (PPR), the voluntary register and regulator for professional paralegals, and founded The National Paralegal Awards (NPA), the national celebration of paralegal excellence. When CILEX (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) acquired the IoP and PPR, Rita was retained as a special adviser to guide the transition, a mark of the trust she has earned across the profession. In 2023, her contribution to the legal sector was formally recognised with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the National Paralegal Awards.
Having held positions as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive and Managing Director, Rita brings genuine boardroom-level insight to her role as a Legal Business Development Specialist at Orion Legal Marketing. She understands the commercial pressures facing solicitors, barristers, mediators, and paralegals because she has led legal organisations through growth, change, and transformation herself.
Whether you are a sole practitioner looking to win more of the right clients, or an established firm ready to develop new revenue streams, Rita combines strategic business advice with a deep, practical knowledge of the legal services market to help your practice achieve its ambitions.
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