Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They Do: Paralegals and legal assistants perform a variety of tasks to support lawyers.
Work Environment: Paralegals and legal assistants are found in all types of organizations, but most work for law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies. They usually work full time, and some may have to work more than 40 hours a week to meet deadlines.
How to Become One: Most paralegals and legal assistants have at least an associate’s degree or a certificate in paralegal studies. In some cases, employers may hire college graduates with a bachelor’s degree but no legal experience or specialized education and train them on the job.
Salary: The median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants is $56,230.
Job Outlook: Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 14 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of paralegals and legal assistants with similar occupations.
Following is everything you need to know about a career as a paralegals or legal assistant with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
Top 3 Paralegal Jobs
-
Litigation Paralegal
- Josephson Dunlap
- Houston, TX
Josephson Dunlap, a nationwide Plaintiff's side wage and hour law firm, is seeking a Litigation Paralegal to support our attorneys and staff in providing exceptional legal services. We offer ...
-
Experienced Litigation Paralegal - Employment Law/Wrongful Termination
- Consumer Law Partners
- Chicago, IL
Experienced Litigation Paralegal - Employment Law (Wrongful Termination) Location: Chicago, IL 60601 Company: Consumer Law Partners, LLC Job Type: Full-Time About Us: Consumer Law Partners, LLC is a ...
-
Divorce and Family Law Paralegal
- Divorce, Family, & Criminal Law Firm
- Roswell, GA
Divorce and Family Law Paralegal Position Overview: A highly reputable law firm specializing in divorce and family law, is seeking an experienced and compassionate Paralegal to join our team in ...
Top 3 Legal Assistant Jobs
-
Legal Assistant
- MCM Law Group P.C.
- Santa Ana, CA
Legal Assistant Position - Join Our Team in Santa Ana, CA MCM Law Group P.C., an Immigration California-based law firm, is seeking a reliable and detail-oriented Legal Assistant to join our team at ...
-
Paralegal or Legal Assistant (Korean Speaking)
- Chang and Lee
- Pasadena, CA
We are seeking a Paralegal Or Legal Assistant (Korean Speaking) to become a part of our team! You will provide overall support to attorneys' business needs. Responsibilities: * Conduct research to ...
-
Legal Assistant
- Hawaii Estate Law and Planning
- Honolulu, HI
We are seeking a Legal Assistant to join our boutique law firm! We are focused primarily on Estate Planning (Trusts, Wills, Power of Attorneys, Probate, etc.) and Real Estate (Deed drafting ...
What Paralegals and Legal Assistants Do[About this section] [To Top]
Paralegals and legal assistants perform a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.
Duties of Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Paralegals and legal assistants typically do the following:
- Investigate and gather the facts of a case
- Conduct research on relevant laws, regulations, and legal articles
- Organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing systems
- Gather and arrange evidence and other legal documents for attorney review and case preparation
- Write or summarize reports to help lawyers prepare for trials
- Draft correspondence and legal documents, such as contracts and mortgages
- Get affidavits and other formal statements that may be used as evidence in court
- Help lawyers during trials by handling exhibits, taking notes, or reviewing trial transcripts
- File exhibits, briefs, appeals and other legal documents with the court or opposing counsel
- Call clients, witnesses, lawyers, and outside vendors to schedule interviews, meetings, and depositions
Paralegals and legal assistants help lawyers prepare for hearings, trials, and corporate meetings.
Paralegals use technology and computer software for managing and organizing the increasing amount of documents and data collected during a case. Many paralegals use computer software to catalog documents, and to review documents for specific keywords or subjects. Because of these responsibilities, paralegals must be familiar with electronic database management and be current on the latest software used for electronic discovery. Electronic discovery refers to all electronic materials obtained by the parties during the litigation or investigation. These materials may be emails, data, documents, accounting databases, and websites.
Paralegals' specific duties often vary depending on the area of law in which they work. The following are examples of types of paralegals and legal assistants:
Corporate paralegals, for example, often help lawyers prepare employee contracts, shareholder agreements, stock-option plans, and companies' annual financial reports. Corporate paralegals may monitor and review government regulations to ensure that the corporation is aware of new legal requirements.
Litigation paralegals maintain documents received from clients, conduct research for lawyers, retrieve and organize evidence for use at depositions and trials, and draft settlement agreements. Some litigation paralegals may also help coordinate the logistics of attending a trial, including reserving office space, transporting exhibits and documents to the courtroom, and setting up computers and other equipment.
Paralegals may also specialize in other legal areas, such as personal injury, criminal law, employee benefits, intellectual property, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, and real estate.
Specific job duties may also vary by the size of the law firm.
In small firms, paralegals' duties tend to vary more. In addition to reviewing and organizing documents, paralegals may prepare written reports that help lawyers determine how to handle their cases. If lawyers decide to file lawsuits on behalf of clients, paralegals may help draft documents to be filed with the court.
In large organizations, paralegals may work on a particular phase of a case, rather than handling a case from beginning to end. For example, paralegals may only review legal material for internal use, maintain reference files, conduct research for lawyers, or collect and organize evidence for hearings. After gaining experience, a paralegal may become responsible for more complicated tasks.
Unlike the work of other administrative and legal support staff employed in a law firm, the paralegal's work is often billed to the client.
Paralegals may have frequent interactions with clients and third-party vendors. In addition, experienced paralegals may assume supervisory responsibilities, such as overseeing team projects or delegating work to other paralegals.
Work Environment for Paralegals and Legal Assistants[About this section] [To Top]
Paralegals and legal assistants hold about 352,800 jobs. The largest employers of paralegals and legal assistants are as follows:
| Legal services | 74% |
| Federal government | 5% |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 4% |
| Finance and insurance | 4% |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 3% |
Paralegals and legal assistants often work in teams with attorneys, fellow paralegals, and other legal support staff.
Paralegals do most of their work in offices. Occasionally, they may travel to gather information, collect and review documents, accompany attorneys to depositions or trials, and do other tasks.
Some of the work can be fast-paced, and paralegals must be able to work on multiple projects under tight deadlines.
Paralegal and Legal Assistant Work Schedules
Most paralegals and legal assistants work full time. Some may work more than 40 hours per week in order to meet deadlines.
How to Become a Paralegal and Legal Assistant[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for Paralegals and Legal Assistants near you!
Most paralegals and legal assistants have an associate's degree in paralegal studies, or a bachelor's degree in another field and a certificate in paralegal studies.
Education for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
There are several paths a person can take to become a paralegal. A common path is for candidates to earn an associate's degree in paralegal studies from a postsecondary institution.
However, many employers may prefer, or even require, applicants to have a bachelor's degree. Because only a small number of schools offer bachelor's degrees in paralegal studies, applicants will typically have a bachelor's degree in another subject and earn a certificate in paralegal studies from a paralegal education program approved by the American Bar Association.
Associate's and bachelor's degree programs in legal or paralegal studies usually offer paralegal training courses in legal research, legal writing, and the legal applications of computers, along with courses in other academic subjects, such as corporate law and international law. Most certificate programs provide intensive paralegal training for people who already hold college degrees.
Employers sometimes hire college graduates with no legal experience or legal education and train them on the job.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Although not required, some employers may prefer to hire applicants who have completed a paralegal certification program.
Some national and local paralegal organizations offer voluntary paralegal certifications to students able to pass an exam. Other organizations offer voluntary paralegal certifications for paralegals who meet certain experience and education criteria.
Important Qualities for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Communication skills. Paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney.
Computer skills. Paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support. They also use computer programs for organizing and maintaining important documents.
Interpersonal skills. Paralegals spend most of their time working with clients and other professionals and must be able to develop good relationships. They must make clients feel comfortable sharing personal information related to their cases.
Organizational skills. Paralegals may be responsible for many cases at one time. They must adapt quickly to changing deadlines.
Research skills. Paralegals gather facts of the case and research information on relevant laws and regulations to prepare drafts of legal documents for attorneys and help them prepare for a case.
Paralegal and Legal Assistant Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants is $56,230. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $36,410, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $88,640.
The median annual wages for paralegals and legal assistants in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Federal government | $69,680 |
| Finance and insurance | $64,740 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | $58,300 |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | $49,350 |
| Legal services | $48,270 |
Most paralegals and legal assistants work full time. Some may work more than 40 hours per week in order to meet deadlines.
Job Outlook for Paralegals and Legal Assistants[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 14 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
About 45,800 openings for paralegals and legal assistants are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
See all legal jobs.
Employment of Paralegals and Legal Assistants
As law firms try to increase the efficiency of legal services and reduce their costs, they are expected to hire more paralegals and legal assistants. In these firms, paralegals and legal assistants may take on a "hybrid" role, performing not only traditional paralegal duties but also some of the tasks previously assigned to legal secretaries or other legal support workers.
Law firms also are attempting to reduce billing costs as clients push for less expensive legal services. Due to their lower billing rates to clients, paralegals are less costly than lawyers in performing a variety of tasks previously assigned to entry-level lawyers. This should increase demand for paralegals and legal assistants.
Although law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals, many large corporations are increasing their in-house legal departments to cut costs. This will lead to an increase in the demand for legal workers in a variety of settings.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 352,800 | 402,700 | 14 | 49,900 |
More Paralegal and Legal Assistant Information[About this section] [To Top]
For more information on the Certified Legal Assistant certification, schools that offer training programs in a specific State, and standards and guidelines for paralegals, visit
NALA – The National Association of Legal Assistants
For more information on the Professional Paralegal certification, visit
NALS – The Association for Legal Professionals
For more information on the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam, paralegal careers, and paralegal training programs visit
National Federation of Paralegal Associations
For a list of American Bar Association approved paralegal education programs, visit
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.