The definitive guide to paralegal skills and specializations

Paralegals are very important for law firms and other legal institutions as they support law professionals with various tasks. Becoming a paralegal can lead to a rewarding career, but finding a good job and achieving success requires well-developed oral and written communication skills, flexibility, and adaptability. Consider using this article as a guide to help you better understand what a paralegal job involves and the skills you can work on to succeed in this field.

What is a paralegal?

Before going into more detail regarding the skills you need to succeed as a paralegal, fully understanding what the job involves is essential. Paralegals, also called legal assistants, are law professionals who handle various duties but are not authorized to work as lawyers.

Although they can’t legally work directly with clients, paralegals perform crucial tasks like drafting legal documents, conducting research on various cases, and scheduling appointments so that attorneys can focus on the work they perform for their clients. Since no state board licenses them, paralegals are free to work in any state.

According to The Paralegal Association (NALA), typical tasks for paralegals include the following:

• Asking clients relevant questions regarding the cases they’re involved in
• Maintaining open communication with clients on behalf of their law firm
• Finding witnesses to various situations and questioning them
• Conducting different types of research and investigation
• Drafting many forms of legal documents on behalf of their employer
• Summarizing court documents, such as depositions, testimonies, and interrogatories
• Attending executions of proceedings, such as real estate transactions, will executions, depositions, and court trials, alongside an attorney
• Writing and signing correspondence, providing they indicate their paralegal status in their communications, and the respective correspondence doesn’t offer any legal opinions or advice

“Although most paralegal skills are helpful regardless of specialization, paralegal professionals have multiple ways to specialize in particular aspects of the law.”

What are some different types of paralegals?

Although most paralegal skills are helpful regardless of specialization, paralegal professionals have multiple ways to specialize in particular aspects of the law. Paralegal specializations generally correspond to lawyer specializations. Some paralegal specializations are:

• Administrative paralegals specialize in administrative law, mainly dealing with local, state, and federal government institutions. Administrative paralegals may also sub-specialize given the wide range of administrative and legal topics, such as public health, immigration, disability and welfare programs, and environmental protection.
• Bankruptcy paralegals work alongside bankruptcy lawyers and represent creditors or debtors in various insolvency-related disputes. Working as a bankruptcy paralegal requires extensive knowledge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
• Corporate paralegals work in corporate law, which focuses on the rights and responsibilities of corporations. They work alongside corporate lawyers on all aspects of a corporation’s life, including its inception, organization, financing, mergers and takeovers, acquisitions, and dissolution.
• Criminal defense paralegals specialize in criminal defense cases and help attorneys representing individuals accused of committing various crimes. The attorneys they work for are either employed by governmental agencies to represent clients involved in criminal cases or private firms.
• Family paralegals work on family-related legal matters, such as divorces, adoptions, prenuptial agreements, and custody disputes. Most family paralegals and lawyers work for small law firms and the public sector.
• Human rights paralegals specialize in protecting clients against human rights violations at national and international levels, including immigration and refugee situations. Typical human rights lawyers and paralegal employers are international intergovernmental agencies, government agencies, and law firms.
• Immigration paralegals deal with various aspects of immigration, mainly the naturalization process that immigrants must undergo to become legal citizens. They usually work for law firms specializing in assisting clients with temporary or permanent relocation to the United States or governmental agencies that enforce immigration laws.
• Real estate paralegals help clients throughout various phases of real estate transactions and represent their interests in courts of law if necessary. Real estate lawyers and paralegals usually work for private law firms and represent clients involved in real estate issues, such as sellers, buyers, agents, developers, and landlords.
• Trademark and copyright paralegals specialize in trademark and copyright law, which deals with the legal implications of various creations by artists, composers, and other authors. They usually protect their works against violation, enforcing their rights under U.S. Patent and Trademark law.

Useful paralegal skills

Regardless of the exact specialization you wish to pursue, working on some specific skills will help you advance in your paralegal career. They can also help you find paralegal jobs if you work on them and include them on your resume. Learn more about some of these paralegal skills below.

Verbal and written communication

Communicating with others, both verbally and in writing, is a fundamental skill of any legal professional. Paralegals spend most of their working time discussing with other parties, such as new or existing clients, experts, witnesses, and supervising attorneys. Speaking clearly and actively listening can help improve your output as a paralegal.

Also, paralegals often get tasked with writing legal documents, such as letters, motions, contracts, briefs, pleadings, legal memorandums, and other types of legal correspondence. Being concise, clear, and persuasive in your writing is also crucial for success in the legal field.

Attention to detail

Besides helping them with administrative tasks, paralegals also assist lawyers by focusing on the small details of each case and allowing lawyers to analyze the big picture. They do that in various ways, such as reviewing documents for clarity, legal authority, and factual correctness. They also handle all logistical procedures involved in a trial, which requires the ability to focus on multiple details simultaneously with very little room for error.

Multitasking

Most paralegals work on multiple cases simultaneously and have many tasks associated with each of their cases. This responsibility requires managing the information related to each specific situation to allow them to perform multiple functions within the same time frame. Being good at multitasking also means efficiently organizing your time and activity. You can do that by maintaining a flexible mindset and learning to prioritize tasks based on their importance and deadline.

Research

Conducting efficient and effective research is also crucial for achieving success as a paralegal. Modern paralegals must have the knowledge and ability to research court cases and other legal matters with online and offline research. Analyzing various documents, situations, witnesses, and multiple types of evidence and coming up with meaningful conclusions can significantly impact a paralegal’s success and the attorney the legal professional supports.

Teamwork

Given that paralegals can’t function independently and are part of a larger legal team, being able to work within a group is essential for your success in the legal field. Each team member has different skills, and you need to find your place within the team and manage to use your skills in a way that helps everyone achieve their goals. Also, you may work directly with clients, which usually helps make them feel like they’re part of your team.

Technology

Modern paralegals generally use a wide variety of technology tools in their work. Besides using technology to communicate with various parties involved in the cases you handle, it’s also essential for your legal research tasks and other duties. The institution you work for may also ask you to help with various tech-related purchases for the office.

Working as a paralegal can be a great career if you’re good at it. As with most professions, you can identify a specialization within the field, find out what skills you need to succeed, and work hard to improve them so that you can advance in your legal career.

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