7 Paralegal Resume Examples, Template, & Writing Tips
Written By Nathan SotoCareer Expert & PR Specialist
Reviewed By Geoffrey ScottProfessional Resume Writer, Career Coach, & Senior Hiring Manager
Nathan Soto
Career Expert & PR Specialist
Nathan Soto is dedicated to providing practical guidance to job seekers, especially people with nonlinear career paths. Nathan’s articles and career advice have been featured on multiple platforms, including Forbes,...
Learn how to write a great resume by getting inspiration from our seven paralegal resume examples for different experience levels and areas of specialization.
Then, use our paralegal cover letter to round out your application.
Paralegal resume examples by experience level
Looking for a different color or design? Check out our full collection of resume templates.
Copy and paste paralegal resume template
This template follows a standard resume format for a paralegal resume.
- Assist 3 attorneys with trial preparation, proofreading, and editing, organizing, and notarizing legal documents
- Gather, analyze and investigate statutes and legal decisions relating to criminal cases, while managing additional office-related tasks
- Coordinated case scheduling with law enforcement, defense attorneys and witnesses to ensure attendance of all concerned entities at court hearings
- Serve as client-attorney liaison, managing high-volume email and phone correspondence, and scheduling and conducting client and witness interviews
- Reduced administrative investigative expenses by 15% through reviewing and developing questionnaires and SOPs for attorney usage when interviewing clients or witnesses
- Assisted 2 senior paralegals with trial preparation, conducting factual and legal research, and gathering documents
- Maintained litigation database, answered phones and correspondences, drafted legal documents, and performed other administrative tasks as needed
- Prepared and presented case evidence and data for attorney review
- Scanned, organized, and filed exhibits, briefs, and legal documents into the firm’s litigation database
- Attended two annual in-house training seminars, and multiple court hearings to understand criminal law and office workflow
- Graduated with 3.8 GPA
- Member of Junior Paralegal Club
- Proficient in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Proficient in LexisNexis for legal research
- Trial Preparation
- Travel Coordination
- Client interviewing and consulting
- E-filing and records management
Example paralegal resumes by job title
Use the following sample resumes to learn how to tailor your resume to different paralegal roles.
Immigration paralegal resume
If you specialize in immigration law, you should make a resume that draws on ideas from this sample:
Why this resume works:
- Metrics: This candidate stands out from other applicants by including numbers, like preparing 47 pieces of paperwork per week. Doing this shows the hiring manager what this paralegal is capable of producing on a weekly basis.
Litigation paralegal resume
Here’s a litigation paralegal resume example for your reference:
Why this resume works:
- Specific software: If you’ve mastered specific software, list it among your resume skills to ensure hiring managers know you can use it. It’s best to see whether the job description specifies what software the law firm or NGO uses.
Personal injury paralegal resume
If you aspire to work for a law firm that handles personal injury claims, get inspiration for your resume from this example:
Why this resume works:
- Concise but impactful summary: This paralegal’s resume summary is short but effectively packs achievements, skills, and years of experience into just four sentences. It also gives a good insight into their personality (for example, they’re collaborative and have good people skills).
Real estate paralegal resume
To become a real estate paralegal, you’ll need to showcase your knowledge of real estate law and ability to support lawyers in this field. Show you’re able to do that with a resume like this one:
Why this resume works:
- Good government relations: This candidate highlights several examples of how they’re effective at liaising with government officials — a vital skill for real estate professionals. For example, they’ve managed to obtain special approvals and ordinances.
Tips for aspiring paralegals
Looking for tips on how to break into the legal field? Check out this video by Crystal Hurt where she talks about her career journey and offers advice for aspiring paralegals:
How to write a paralegal resume
To become a paralegal, you’ll need to impress the partners at the law firm you’re applying to or the hiring managers at a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization. Here are some tips on how to do just that.
1. Start with a compelling introduction
A resume summary is the standard beginning to a resume. Three to five sentences long, a good resume summary highlights your career achievements, key skills, and educational background in a way that makes employers want to keep reading your resume.
If you’re unsure how to create such a resume summary, look to these three examples for inspiration. You can copy and paste them by clicking the button and then tailor the information to your own situation:
Detail-oriented family law paralegal with 10 years of experience managing 300+ divorce, custody, and support cases. Successfully mediated 50+ child custody agreements and assisted in the preparation of 100+ court filings. Proven track record of providing empathetic client support and ensuring timely and accurate legal documentation.
Experienced patent law paralegal with 8 years in the field, managing 200+ patent applications and 150+ office action responses. Expertise in conducting thorough patent searches and drafting 100+ patent claims. Adept at coordinating with inventors and attorneys to ensure comprehensive and accurate patent protection.
Dedicated civil rights paralegal with 7 years at the ACLU, handling 150+ cases involving constitutional issues and civil liberties. Successfully assisted in 25+ high-profile lawsuits and coordinated 50+ pro bono legal clinics. Strong background in legal research, drafting motions, and supporting litigation efforts to defend individual rights.
2. Include paralegal hard skills and keywords
As a paralegal, there are a number of hard skills that law firms are looking for that indicate you’re experienced at supporting lawyers in their work. It’s important to include these and other keywords from the job description on your resume to show you have what it takes to succeed in the role.
Here are 15 hard skills that are considered must-haves for paralegals regardless of your field of law:
- Legal research (LexisNexis, Westlaw)
- Document management (iManage, NetDocuments)
- Drafting legal documents
- E-Discovery (Relativity, Logikcull)
- Litigation support
- Case management (Clio, MyCase)
- Client communication
- Legal compliance
- Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- Timekeeping and billing (Timeslips, Bill4Time)
- Contract review and negotiation
- Legal software (PracticePanther)
- Court filing procedures (PACER, CM/ECF)
- Proofreading and editing
- Notary public
And here’s a list of the most common keywords that appear in real paralegal job ads, showing the hard skills, soft skills, and qualifications that employers are looking for right now.
We analyzed 796 real paralegal job ads to find the top keywords to add to your application documents.
Data
| Keywords | Percentage | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Communication skills | 37 | 298 |
| Attention to detail | 34 | 270 |
| Bachelors degree | 32 | 256 |
| Microsoft Office | 27 | 217 |
| Legal research | 27 | 214 |
| Organizational skills | 25 | 198 |
| Case management | 23 | 185 |
| Paralegal certificate | 23 | 180 |
| Ability to work independently | 20 | 159 |
| Multitasking | 10 | 80 |
3. Write numbers-based bullet points
To demonstrate that you’re an accomplished paralegal, add numbers to each of your bullet points. This proves to employers that you have concrete achievements to your name, making it more likely that they’ll hire you, especially as many other candidates don’t quantify their resume achievements.
Here are 7 good numbers-based bullet points for a paralegal resume (with numbers highlighted):
- Immigration Law: Prepared and submitted 300+ visa applications annually to US Citizenship & Immigration Services, achieving a 98% approval rate, significantly enhancing client satisfaction and retention
- Real Estate Law: Managed 150+ residential and commercial property closings per year, ensuring accurate documentation and compliance, resulting in a 25% reduction in closing time
- Constitutional Law: Assisted in the preparation and filing of 50+ amicus briefs for landmark New York Court of Appeals cases, contributing to successful rulings on civil rights issues
- Personal Injury Law: Coordinated medical records and documentation for 200+ personal injury cases, leading to settlements averaging $500,000 per case
- Contract Law: Supported the drafting, review, and negotiation of 120+ contracts annually, resulting in a 35% reduction in contractual disputes and saving clients $1 mil. in litigation costs
- Corporate Law: Assisted in the formation and registration of 75+ corporations, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations, which resulted in a 15% increase in client base
- Litigation Law: Conducted discovery and prepared trial documents for 80+ litigation cases annually, contributing to a 30% increase in favorable verdicts and settlements
Numbers can also be added to a short (3–4) bullet point list on your paralegal cover letter to show more examples of your achievements.
4. Highlight your educational background
Paralegals don’t necessarily need a law degree; however, you should still highlight any legal training you have even if you studied a non-law subject.
For example, if you studied PoliSci, consider adding a relevant coursework field to your education section and listing any classes related to law.
For example, political science programs often include classes such as American Constitutional Law, American Civil Liberties, and International Law, so you could add these to your education section.
Here’s an example of a thorough education section for someone who didn’t study law:
A detailed education section is more important for entry-level paralegal roles or internships than on resumes for more experienced paralegals where your experience is more convincing.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
Graduated: 20XX
GPA: 3.8/4.0
Latin honors: magna cum laude
Relevant Coursework:
- Constitutional Law
- Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
- Introduction to Legal Studies
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- International Law and Organizations
- Legal Research and Writing
- Public Policy Analysis
- Administrative Law
- Ethics and the Law
Dissertation: The Impact of US Supreme Court Decisions on Civil Liberties
Academic Achievements
- Dean’s List, 6 semesters
- Awarded the Political Science Department’s Best Undergraduate Thesis
You can also add paralegal certifications to your education section. Here are 5 nationally recognized paralegal certifications:
- Certified Paralegal (CP) / Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) – NALA
- Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) – NALA
- Professional Paralegal (PP) – NALS
- Registered Paralegal (RP) – NFPA
- CORE Registered Paralegal (CRP) – NFPA
And here are 5 certifications recognized by the 4 largest states in the union, as well as Delaware, a famously corporation-friendly state where almost two-thirds of Fortune 500 corporations and 80% of IPOs are registered:
- New York: New York Certified Paralegal (NYCP) – New York City Paralegal Association (NYCPA)
- California: California Advanced Specialist Paralegal (CASP) – California Alliance of Paralegal Associations (CAPA)
- Texas: Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) – Paralegal Certification
- Florida: Florida Registered Paralegal (FRP) – The Florida Bar
- Delaware: Delaware Certified Paralegal (DCP) with a focus on Corporate Law – Delaware Paralegal Association (DPA)
Resume examples for different industries
Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.
Average paralegal salaries in the US
After you’ve written your resume, make sure you use it to apply for jobs within a fair salary range.
The following table includes information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report. Here are the ten states with the highest salaries for paralegals, as well as the national average for your reference when applying for work.
Top 10 states by average paralegal salary
| State | Salary / Year |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $96,200 |
| Washington | $83,930 |
| Massachusetts | $78,540 |
| California | $76,920 |
| New York | $74,580 |
| Minnesota | $71,560 |
| Oregon | $70,210 |
| Maryland | $69,520 |
| New Jersey | $69,010 |
| Illinois | $68,960 |
| National Average | $66,510 |
Click to rate this article
4.9 Average rating
