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Paralegals and Legal Assistant resume example

A resume for a Paralegals and Legal Assistant needs to show the work itself: assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Day to day that means work like this: prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system; prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Legal Assistant
  • Legal Clerk
  • Paralegal
  • Paralegal Specialist
  • Immigration Paralegal
  • Law Associate
  • Legal Analyst
  • Legal Processing Assistant
  • Litigation Paralegal
  • Real Estate Paralegal
  • Certified Paralegal
  • Contract Preparer
  • Contracts Specialist
  • Corporate Legal Assistant
  • Corporate Paralegal
  • Document Processor
  • Family Law Paralegal
  • Intellectual Property Paralegal

O*NET records 25 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
  • Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
  • Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases.
  • Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits.
  • Meet with clients and other professionals to discuss details of case.
  • Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents.
  • File pleadings with court clerk.
  • Direct and coordinate law office activity, including delivery of subpoenas.
  • Call upon witnesses to testify at hearing.
  • Arbitrate disputes between parties and assist in the real estate closing process, such as by reviewing title searches.
  • Appraise and inventory real and personal property for estate planning.
  • Keep and monitor legal volumes to ensure that law library is up-to-date.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • a la mode WinTOTAL
  • AbacusNext HotDocs
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • American LegalNet USCourtForms
  • Appligent Citation FDFMerge
  • Blumbeg Drafting Libraries
  • Bowne JFS Litigator's Notebook
  • Bridgeway eCounsel
  • Case analysis software
  • CaseSoft DepPrep
  • CaseSoft TextMap
  • CaseSoft TimeMap
  • Computer access catalog software
  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite

99 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Desktop computers
  • Image scanners
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Notebook computers
  • Optical character recognition equipment
  • Personal computers
  • Photocopiers
  • Scanners

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • Thomson Reuters Westlaw
  • AbacusNext HotDocs

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Writing
  2. 02Active Listening
  3. 03Reading Comprehension
  4. 04Speaking
  5. 05Critical Thinking
  6. 06Active Learning
  7. 07Complex Problem Solving
  8. 08Judgment and Decision Making
  9. 09Monitoring
  10. 10Service Orientation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Law and Government
  • English Language
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 37%Bachelor's Degree
  • 20%Associate's Degree
  • 19%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Paralegals and Legal Assistant do?
Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Day to day that includes work like prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system and Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
What skills should a Paralegals and Legal Assistant put on a resume?
O*NET rates Writing, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Paralegals and Legal Assistant list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes a la mode WinTOTAL, AbacusNext HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat, American LegalNet USCourtForms, and Appligent Citation FDFMerge. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Paralegals and Legal Assistant work?
O*NET records 25 titles for this occupation, including Legal Assistant, Legal Clerk, Paralegal, and Paralegal Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Paralegals and Legal Assistant need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 37% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Paralegals and Legal Assistant role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.