Paralegals and legal assistants held about 325,700 jobs in 2018. The largest employers of paralegals and legal assistants were as follows:
| Legal services | 73% |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 4 |
| Federal government | 4 |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 3 |
| Finance and insurance | 3 |
Paralegals and legal assistants often work in teams with attorneys, fellow paralegals, and other legal support staff.
Paralegals do most of their work in offices. Occasionally, they may travel to gather information, collect and review documents, accompany attorneys to depositions or trials, and do other tasks.
Some of the work can be fast-paced, and paralegals must be able to work on multiple projects under tight deadlines.
Work Schedules
Most paralegals and legal assistants work full time. Some may work more than 40 hours per week in order to meet deadlines.
Most paralegals and legal assistants have an associate’s degree in paralegal studies, or a bachelor's degree in another field and a certificate in paralegal studies.
Education
There are several paths a person can take to become a paralegal. A common path is for candidates to earn an associate’s degree in paralegal studies from a postsecondary institution.
However, many employers may prefer, or even require, applicants to have a bachelor’s degree. Because only a small number of schools offer bachelor’s degrees in paralegal studies, applicants will typically have a bachelor’s degree in another subject and earn a certificate in paralegal studies from a paralegal education program approved by the American Bar Association .
Associate’s and bachelor's degree programs in legal or paralegal studies usually offer paralegal training courses in legal research, legal writing, and the legal applications of computers, along with courses in other academic subjects, such as corporate law and international law. Most certificate programs provide intensive paralegal training for people who already hold college degrees.
Employers sometimes hire college graduates with no legal experience or legal education and train them on the job.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
Although not required, some employers may prefer to hire applicants who have completed a paralegal certification program.
Some national and local paralegal organizations offer voluntary paralegal certifications to students able to pass an exam. Other organizations offer voluntary paralegal certifications for paralegals who meet certain experience and education criteria.
Paralegals and legal assistants typically have an interest in the Thinking, Persuading and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Thinking interest area indicates a focus on researching, investigating, and increasing the understanding of natural laws. The Persuading interest area indicates a focus on influencing, motivating, and selling to other people. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.
If you are not sure whether you have a Thinking or Persuading or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a paralegal and legal assistant, you can take a career test to measure your interests.
Paralegals and legal assistants should also possess the following specific qualities:
Communication skills. Paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney.
Computer skills. Paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support. They also use computer programs for organizing and maintaining important documents.
Interpersonal skills. Paralegals spend most of their time working with clients and other professionals and must be able to develop good relationships. They must make clients feel comfortable sharing personal information related to their cases.
Organizational skills. Paralegals may be responsible for many cases at one time. They must adapt quickly to changing deadlines.
Research skills. Paralegals need good research and investigative skills to conduct legal research.
The median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants was $51,740 in May 2019. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,160, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $82,500.
In May 2019, the median annual wages for paralegals and legal assistants in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
| Federal government | $67,080 |
| Finance and insurance | 64,190 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 51,030 |
| Legal services | 49,630 |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 46,820 |
Most paralegals and legal assistants work full time. Some may work more than 40 hours per week in order to meet deadlines.
Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2028, 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. In these cases, paralegals and legal assistants can take on a “hybrid” role within the firm, performing not only traditional paralegal duties but also some of the tasks previously assigned to legal secretaries or other legal support workers.
Law firms also are attempting to reduce billing costs as clients push for less expensive legal services. Due to their lower billing rates to clients, paralegals can be a less costly alternative to lawyers , performing a wide variety of tasks once done by entry-level lawyers. This should cause an increase in demand for paralegals and legal assistants.
Although law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals, many large corporations are increasing their in-house legal departments to cut costs. For many companies, the high cost of outside counsel makes it more economical to have an in-house legal department. This will lead to an increase in the demand for legal workers in a variety of settings, such as finance and insurance firms, consulting firms, and healthcare providers.
Job Prospects
Due to the rise of electronic discovery, formally trained paralegals with strong computer and database management skills should have the best job prospects.
For more information on the Certified Legal Assistant certification, schools that offer training programs in a specific State, and standards and guidelines for paralegals, visit
NALA – The National Association of Legal Assistants
For more information on the Professional Paralegal certification, visit
NALS – The Association for Legal Professionals
For more information on the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam, paralegal careers, and paralegal training programs visit
National Federation of Paralegal Associations
For a list of American Bar Association approved paralegal education programs, visit