What a paralegal really does
You keep cases moving: you organize the records, draft the documents, track every deadline, and make sure the attorney walks in ready.
FieldLaw and public service
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Medium preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for paralegals, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Request, review and summarize medical, employment or business records for a case
- Draft letters, affidavits, pleadings and discovery documents for attorney review
- Keep the case file and document system organized so anything can be found fast
- Track and calendar court deadlines and schedule meetings for attorneys
- Talk with clients by phone and email to collect facts and documents
- Search public records and research statutes or cases when asked
- Build exhibit lists and binders when a case heads toward trial
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Accuracy is the defining skill. A wrong date or missing page can hurt a client's case. Importance of being exact or accurate: 79% extremely important (O*NET Work Context)
- It is a heavily seated, keyboard heavy job with a lot of repetition. Spend time sitting: 80% continually or almost continually; Spend time making repetitive motions: 55% continually or almost continually; Importance of repeating same tasks: 49% extremely important (O*NET Work Context)
- You make many small decisions every day about what to file, flag and prioritize. Frequency of decision making: 62% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Deadlines hit weekly, often driven by court rules. Time pressure: 54% once a week or more but not every day (O*NET Work Context)
- You rarely present in public. The work happens behind the scenes. Public speaking: 64% never (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
O*NET places this in Job Zone 3. Respondents report a bachelor's degree (37%), an associate's degree (20%) or a high school diploma (19%) for new hires, often with a paralegal certificate and one to two years of on the job training. Many start as legal assistants or file clerks and grow into paralegal roles.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: This trial does not cover filing in person at a courthouse, using real e filing systems or case management software, or the slow months between case events. Paralegals cannot give legal advice, so the trial keeps the user under attorney supervision. All clients, courts and rules are fictional.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
Other careers you can try
Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 23-2011.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.