Paralegal job description

Behind most working lawyers is someone who found the precedent, built the file, and got the pleading out the door. Paralegals investigate facts, research case law, and prepare legal documents, and the federal occupation that counts them, 23-2011, also covers legal assistants, since employers use both titles for much the same desk. Median pay stood at $62,890 a year in the May 2025 BLS survey; one paralegal in ten earned less than $44,740, and one in ten cleared $101,500.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Documents dominate the task list: preparing affidavits and legal correspondence, keeping everything organized in paper and electronic filing systems, and drafting, editing, or reviewing briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements. Research runs alongside, through public records, statutes, court decisions, and legal articles, gathered and analyzed to determine causes of action and build the case. Closer to trial the job turns logistical: organizing exhibits, filing pleadings with the court clerk, and meeting with clients and other professionals to work through details.

Common Skills and Technologies

Nothing in the O*NET skill data outranks writing here, which for a job built on documents is exactly as it should be; reading comprehension and active listening trail it by a fraction, with speaking next. Thomson Reuters Westlaw is the research system employers actually request, Orion covers law-office management, and the daily layer is Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word and Excel, and Zoom for client and witness calls.

Education, Training, and Career Path

Asked what the job takes at hiring, 37 percent of the occupation's survey respondents named a bachelor's degree, 20 percent an associate degree, and 19 percent a high school diploma, with the rest of the answers spread across certificates and graduate degrees. That spread fits O*NET's medium-preparation grading: vocational training, related experience, or a two-year degree gets a candidate in, and a year or two alongside experienced staff completes the training. Specialization comes later, and reported titles show where: litigation, immigration, and real estate paralegals all appear, along with legal analyst.

Sources: O*NET 30.0, 23-2011.00 Paralegals and Legal Assistants, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/23-2011.00. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 23-2011, https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.