Paralegal Resume: Examples (2026)

A paralegal does legal work that a lawyer would otherwise do, under that lawyer's supervision: research, first drafts, discovery, case files, transaction checklists, filings with courts and agencies. So an attorney reading a paralegal resume is asking one thing above all: how much of my work can I hand to this person, and how little will I need to fix? The answer lives in your practice area, the documents you draft, the size of the matters and the results.

This page covers what goes on a paralegal resume and in what order, summary and bullet examples for entry-level, experienced and senior paralegals, the skills and research tools postings name, the national paralegal certifications and what each requires, and a full example for a corporate paralegal moving from a law firm to an in-house legal department. If your work is mainly calendars, filings and correspondence for attorneys, many firms call that job legal assistant, and the legal assistant resume example is written for it.

These are the skills paralegal postings ask for most, grouped by type. Use the ones from your practice area, in the posting's words, and prove the most important in your bullets.

Hard skills

• Legal research and case law summaries
• Drafting pleadings, motions and discovery for attorney review
• Document review and privilege logs
• Deposition preparation and summaries
• Trial exhibits and witness binders
• Due diligence and closing checklists
• Entity formation, annual reports and good standing
• Contract abstracts and key term tracking
• Public records, lien and court record searches
• Citation checking in Bluebook format

Soft skills

• Judgment about what to raise with the attorney
• Clear, precise writing
• Managing many deadlines across matters
• Discretion with privileged information
• Calm under trial or closing pressure
• Knowing the limits of the role and not giving legal advice

Tools and software

• Westlaw or Lexis
• Relativity, Everlaw or DISCO
• CaseMap and TrialDirector
• Diligent Entities or CT Corporation tools
• Datasite or Intralinks data rooms
• Microsoft Word, Excel and Adobe Acrobat Pro

Start from the one closest to you and change the details. Each gives your practice area, the substantive work you own, your credential and the next job.

Entry-level paralegal

Paralegal studies graduate with a bachelor's degree and a 200-hour internship at a legal aid office, where I drafted discovery requests, summarized medical records for 12 disability appeals and pulled court records. Trained in Westlaw and Bluebook citation. Seeking an entry-level litigation paralegal role; sitting for the Paralegal CORE Competency Exam this fall.

Experienced litigation paralegal

Litigation paralegal with seven years at a 60-lawyer insurance defense firm, managing discovery and trial preparation for about 45 open cases. Draft discovery responses, summarize depositions and run document review in Relativity, and have supported 9 jury trials from start to verdict. Registered Paralegal (RP); seeking a senior litigation paralegal role.

Senior paralegal or paralegal manager

Senior paralegal with fifteen years across law firm and in-house roles, now leading a team of 5 paralegals in a hospital system's legal department. Manage contract intake of about 1,200 agreements a year, entity compliance for 38 affiliates and litigation holds. Certified Paralegal; seeking a paralegal manager or legal operations role.

Each bullet shows legal work, the size of it and the result. Use the structure and your own facts.

• Drafted first versions of discovery requests and responses for 30 active cases, cutting attorney drafting time by about a third.
• Summarized 70 depositions a year into indexed digests attorneys used to prepare cross-examination.
• Managed review of 180,000 documents in Relativity with a team of 8 contract reviewers, finishing a week early.
• Prepared exhibit lists and witness binders for 6 jury trials, with every exhibit pre-marked and cross-referenced.
• Built a privilege log of 2,400 entries that the court accepted without challenge.
• Researched and summarized case law on 25 procedural questions a year for attorney memos.
• Formed 60 LLCs and corporations a year in 18 states, and filed amendments and dissolutions on schedule.
• Abstracted key terms from 500 commercial leases into a tracker used to plan renewals.
• Obtained and indexed medical records for 110 personal injury clients, cutting the wait for records from 8 to 4 weeks.
• Prepared 40 immigration petitions a year with supporting evidence packets for attorney signature.
• Trained 3 new paralegals on the firm's discovery and e-filing procedures.

No national license is required to work as a paralegal, and most employers hire on education and experience. A national certification is still the clearest proof of your knowledge, and some employers prefer or require one. Three organizations offer the main credentials. As of September 2026:

• Certified Paralegal (CP) from NALA, the Paralegal Association: a national exam you can qualify for through paralegal education, a bachelor's degree, or paralegal work experience. NALA also offers the Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) for specialty areas.
• Registered Paralegal (RP) from the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, earned by passing the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE). It is meant for experienced paralegals: for example, a bachelor's degree plus at least three years of substantive paralegal work, as the NFPA eligibility rules set out.
• CORE Registered Paralegal (CRP) from the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, earned by passing the Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE): designed for early-career paralegals, with routes for recent graduates.
• Professional Paralegal (PP) from NALS, the association for legal professionals: a multiple-choice exam that assesses the qualifications of a paralegal professional, with eligibility based on education and work experience, as described in the NALS certification manual.

The example is for Hannah, a corporate paralegal at a business law firm who wants to move in-house. Here is what each part is doing.

Headline: Corporate Paralegal, Certified Paralegal (CP). Practice area and national credential in one line.

Summary: six years, a 40-lawyer firm and about 90 clients first. Then four kinds of work she owns (drafting, due diligence, checklists, entity records), her credential and education, and the in-house role she wants.

Certification: her CP from NALA with the year 2022, listed apart from the school certificate so the two are not confused.

Current job: five bullets, each substantive. Deals first, with count and value range (14 deals, $3 million to $85 million). Due diligence next, with document volume and the 180 flagged contracts. Then entity management across 31 states, drafting that saves associates about 15 hours a week, and research on 12 entity conversions. Together they show an in-house lawyer exactly what she can take off their desk.

Earlier job: one line from title work, about 50 closings a month, which shows early experience with liens and searches.

Education and skills: the paralegal certificate and bachelor's degree, then eight skills naming corporate tasks and the tools she uses.

• Only administrative tasks. Filing, scheduling and copying are part of many paralegal jobs, but if that is all the resume shows, it reads as a legal assistant resume. Lead with research, drafting and case or deal work.
• Mixing up certificate and certification. Writing certified paralegal when you hold a school certificate can be seen as a false claim. Use the exact names.
• No matter size. Assisted with discovery is empty. Say how many cases, how many documents, how many depositions or deals.
• Naming clients or case captions. Describe matters by type and size. Confidentiality matters more in this job than almost any other.
• Suggesting you give legal advice. Words like advised clients worry attorneys. Write explained the process to clients or prepared for attorney review.
• One resume for every practice area. A litigation posting and a corporate posting use different words. Change the headline, summary and top skills for each.

Other legal, HR and office resume examples close to this one:

• Legal assistant resume: for attorney support roles centered on calendars, filings and correspondence.
• Human resources resume: for employment law paralegals moving toward HR compliance.
• Project coordinator resume: for paralegals whose strongest skill is running checklists and deadlines.
• Executive assistant resume: for supporting senior leaders outside a law firm.

Every example is in the resume examples hub, grouped by job and situation.