What Does a Paralegal Do? The Responsibilities and Trends

By Dr. James Barney  |  06/09/2025

Mention the term “paralegal,” and many people still picture someone who quietly pushes paperwork behind the scenes. However, that image is long outdated.

Today’s paralegals are essential contributors to the legal process, engaged in substantive legal work that supports attorneys and serves clients. Also, today’s paralegals often work in industries that are far beyond traditional law offices.

What Is a Paralegal?

A paralegal, often referred to as a legal assistant, differs from the administrative staff at a law firm in many ways. First, unlike other legal support staff, paralegals and legal assistants perform substantive legal work under the supervision of an attorney.

For example, paralegals participate in all stages of the legal process from client intake to trial preparation. They work on appeals and other post-judgment motions.

Paralegals working at a law firm are an essential part of the legal team. Their work may involve:

• Conducting legal research
• Writing various legal documents
• Drafting legal documents
• Assisting an attorney with a wide range of legal matters

Where Do Paralegals Work?

There is a notion that paralegals focus just on litigation matters. It’s true that many paralegals do work on civil litigation matters such as employment and personal injury cases. However, a paralegal can work in a wide array of legal areas, including:

• Corporate law
• Criminal law
• Intellectual property law
• Real estate law
• Family law
• Immigration law

Prospective paralegals should not think that their options are limited to a certain practice area or a particular segment of the legal system.

The Skills Needed to Become a Paralegal

Students who are interested in becoming a paralegal must first understand that paralegals are assisting attorneys with various legal matters. These aspiring paralegals must have certain skills, including:

• Being detail-oriented
• Working efficiently as part of a legal team
• Possessing strong organizational skills
• Having a solid understanding of the law and legal profession
• Conducting basic legal writing
• Performing legal research
• Participating in legal analysis

Education and Training

For students interested in becoming paralegals, there are several pathways in the legal system, ranging from participating in a paralegal certificate program to working at a law firm to obtain hands-on experience in the field. Alternatively, some paralegals obtain an associate degree or a bachelor's degree and then get legal experience after their educational programs.

While some aspiring paralegals believe they must attend paralegal education programs approved by the American Bar Association or other accreditor, this way of thinking is a misconception. Most paralegals get their first job in the field by just getting some on-the-job training.

Taking courses in a paralegal studies program may also be useful if you seek to eventually become a paralegal. This education provides employers with solid evidence that a job candidate has a genuine interest in the legal profession.

Alternatively, you can get some legal experience by:

• Volunteering for community legal service programs
• Transferring within your company or government agency to work in the legal department or human resources department

Such experiences provide valuable insight into the legal field and show that you have a genuine interest in becoming a paralegal.

The Work Environment

There is a misconception that paralegals only work at private law firms. However, this isn’t the case.

Paralegals may work in government agencies, corporate legal departments, hospitals, tech firms, real estate companies, or other employers where attorneys are present. Paralegals can work in any organization that has contracts to be reviewed or compliance that needs handling.

Want to specialize in immigration law, patents, criminal defense, corporate law, business law, or real estate law? There is a need for paralegal help in all of these areas.

Since paralegals are found both inside and outside the typical law office, it is hard to generalize about the usual work environment of a paralegal. A paralegal’s daily work experience depends upon several factors, including:

• The practice area of the attorneys they support
• The type of employer
• The size of the employer

For example, paralegals working in government agencies or community legal services programs may have a different work schedule from other paralegals working in large law firms. Similarly, the paralegal duties in an intellectual property law firm may differ greatly from those at a civil litigation law firm.

Why Paralegals Matter to Law Firms

Paralegals are essential. However, some attorneys remain skeptical about delegating responsibilities to non-attorneys or are reluctant to supervise paralegals or legal assistants. However, these feelings are misplaced because the benefits of hiring a paralegal outweigh any perceived burdens.

Hiring a paralegal frees up attorneys to focus on generating more business, networking, and putting in more billable hours. While smaller law firms may initially balk at the investment of onboarding a paralegal, paralegals typically are a great investment in a firm’s growth.

For instance, a paralegal who has attention to detail may prevent a solo attorney from missing court dates. Also, paralegals can help conduct research or assist with interviewing clients, which may prevent mishaps that could happen if an attorney was working alone.

In addition, attorneys at a law office often ask a paralegal or legal assistant to work with opposing counsel to resolve disputes during the discovery phase of a case or other matters. As a result, attorneys are free for high-value work.

Paralegal vs. Legal Secretary

Many people confuse a paralegal with a legal secretary, but the roles and responsibilities of each type of employee differ significantly. While the term “legal secretary” has fallen out of favor, legal secretaries (sometimes called “administrative assistants”) often engage in important administrative tasks such as:

• Managing calendars
• Answering phones
• Filing paperwork

By contrast, many paralegals draft briefs and other legal documents, conduct legal research, interview clients, and dig into case law. Although paralegals often do the work done by administrative assistants in small firms, these jobs are distinct.

The Ethical Boundaries of Paralegals

While a paralegal can complete some work, they cannot do other tasks without violating ethical and legal prohibitions. For instance, there are ethical and criminal laws for the unauthorized practice of law, so paralegals cannot give legal advice or present themselves as a licensed attorney. They must always work under the supervision of an attorney and cannot represent clients on their own.

While paralegals and legal assistants are not directly regulated in the legal environment, they must always perform their work under the supervision of an attorney, even if they work remotely or for several employers. In recent years, some paralegals have styled themselves as freelancers and work for multiple employers.

However, paralegals and legal assistants must comply with both ethical guidelines and state law in all situations. Paralegals can get into hot water if they cross the line into doing work that only an attorney is legally permitted to do, so they should have a basic understanding of the relevant laws for their state.

Some states have considered developing programs that would allow paralegals and other legal professionals to register with state bar associations and engage in the limited practice of law. However, paralegals are currently supervised by attorneys who ensure those paralegals do not accidentally practice law.

Technology and the Future of Paralegal Work

Technology has already transformed legal research and writing. Artificial intelligence (AI) and other technological advances will likely transform the type of work that paralegals do in the future. Given the rapid pace of technological change, aspiring paralegals should become familiar with AI tools and other technology that will shape the future of the paralegal profession.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, paralegals used technology fulfilled their responsibilities remotely, including helping attorneys at law firms and other organizations with discovery, trial preparation, drafting legal documents, and other tasks. This experience illustrates how technology has opened up opportunities for paralegals.

Legal Studies Degrees at American Military University

For adult learners who want to gain the knowledge to pursue a position as a paralegal or eventually progress to law schools, American Military University (AMU) offers an online undergraduate certificate in paralegal studies and several legal studies degrees, such as:

• An online Associate of Science in Legal Studies
• An online Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies
• An online Master of Arts in Legal Studies

The courses in these academic programs involve a variety of topics, such as litigation, criminal law and procedure for the paralegal, and legal research and writing. Other courses that are available to students include an introduction to legal technology, civil practice and procedure, family law, and contract law.

For more details on these programs, visit AMU’s legal studies program page.

Note: Completion of the bachelor’s program in legal studies does not award any professional paralegal or any other certification, but may be helpful in preparing to seek such certifications. Although some states do not require a Juris Doctor for bar entry, the master’s in legal studies does not prepare you to practice law or gain admission to the bar of any state based solely on completion of this program.