Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Career Overview

Paralegals and legal assistants perform a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.

Education

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.

Future Outlook

Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 10 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. 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.

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.

Recommended High School Courses

Computer Science
Business
Writing
Communication

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Maintain the order of legal documents.
Prepare legal documents.
Research relevant legal materials to aid decision making.
Confer with court staff to clarify information.
Meet with individuals involved in legal processes to provide information and clarify issues.
Evaluate information related to legal matters in public or personal records.
Coordinate legal schedules or activities.
Represent the interests of clients in legal proceedings.
Arbitrate disputes between parties to resolve legal conflicts.

Schools

Abilene Christian Univers...

Abraham Lincoln Universit...

Adelphi University

Alaska Pacific University

Albion College

Allegheny College

Alvernia University

American River College

Angelo State University

Arizona Western College

Arlington Career Institut...

Ashworth College- Norcros...

Assumption College

Atlanta Technical College

Atlantic Technical Colleg...

Augustana University

Austin Community College...

Bakersfield College- Pano...

Ball State University

Barry University

Baylor University

Belmont University

Beloit College

Bemidji State University

Berea College

Berkeley College Online

Bethel University

Bethel University (indian...

Birmingham Southern Colle...

Bluefield State College-...

Bob Jones University

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Bowling Green State Unive...

Bradley University

Brescia University

Bryan University

Buena Vista University

Centre College

Cerritos College

Chippewa Valley Technical...

Claremont Mckenna College

Coe College

College Of Charleston

College Of Saint Scholast...

College Of Wooster

Columbus State Community...

Community College Of Alle...

Concordia University- Tex...

Dallas College West Dalla...

Davidson College

Dickinson College

Durham Technical Communit...

Eastern Kentucky Universi...

El Camino College

El Centro College- Dallas...

Everett Community College

Fairleigh Dickinson Unive...

Fayetteville State Univer...

Florida Institute Of Tech...

Florida Southwestern Stat...

Franciscan University At...

Franklin And Marshall Col...

Gadsden State Community C...

Georgia Piedmont Technica...

Gettysburg College

Hamline University

Herzing University- Akron...

Herzing University- Brook...

Herzing University- Kenos...

Herzing University- Madis...

Herzing University- New O...

Herzing University- Onlin...

Herzing University- Orlan...

Hillsborough Community Co...

Hillsdale College

Hobart And William Smith...

Hope College

Jefferson State Community...

Kapiolani Community Colle...

Key College

Lake Forest College

Macalester College

Maccormac College

Manchester Community Coll...

Massachusetts Bay Communi...

Millsaps College

Minot State University

Mount Holyoke College

New York University

Northeast Wisconsin Techn...

Oakland Community College

Oglethorpe University

Ohio State University- Ma...

Palm Beach State College-...

Pepperdine University

Plaza College

Post University

Randolph-macon College

Saint Mary-of-the-woods C...

South Coast College

South Suburban College

Suffolk County Community...

Sullivan University- Lexi...

Sullivan University- Loui...

Suny At Canton

Suny Broome Community Col...

Suny Dutchess Community C...

Suny Finger Lakes Communi...

Suny Genesee Community Co...

Suny Herkimer County Comm...

Suny Jefferson Community...

Suny Nassau Community Col...

Suny Rockland Community C...

Suny Schenectady County C...

Suny Tompkins Cortland Co...

Suny Ulster County Commun...

Suny Westchester Communit...

Sweet Briar College

University Of Alaska Fair...

University Of Northwester...

Ursinus College

Vista College- El Paso Ca...

Washburn University- Inst...

Washington And Lee Univer...

Wayland Baptist Universit...

Wesleyan College

Wheaton College- Massachu...

Wofford College

Academy Canada- St. Jo...

Algoma University- Sau...

Anderson College Of He...

Assiniboine Community...

Bishop's University

Bow Valley College- Do...

Brandon University

Campion College

Canadian Career Colleg...

Canadian College Of He...

Canadian Institute Of...

Canadian Mennonite Uni...

Capilano University- K...

Capilano University- M...

Cdi College- Anjou Cam...

Cdi College- Calgary C...

Cdi College- Calgary N...

Cdi College- Calgary S...

Cdi College- Edmonton...

Cdi College- Laval Cam...

Cdi College- Mississau...

Cdi College- Montreal...

Cdi College- North Yor...

Cdi College- Pointe-cl...

Cdi College- Scarborou...

Cdi College- Surrey Ca...

Cdi College- Winnipeg...

Cts Canadian Career Co...

Durham College- Oshawa...

Eastern College- Monct...

Fanshawe College- Lond...

Fleming College- Suthe...

Herzing College- Ottaw...

Herzing College- Toron...

Herzing College- Winni...

Humber College- Lakesh...

Maritime Business Coll...

O'sullivan College Of...

Oulton College- Main C...

Red River College- Exc...

Robertson College- Mai...

Seneca College- Seneca...

Sprott Shaw Community...

St. Claire College- Ce...

Stratford Career Insti...

Vancouver Career Colle...

Vancouver Community Co...

Westervelt College

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$32,160.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$51,740.00 /yr

High End:

$82,500.00 /yr

Related Careers

Firefighter

Lawyer

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.