Paralegal Job Description

Are you asking yourself, what is a Paralegal? Paralegals assist lawyers in the direct preparation for court cases and trials. Conducting legal research, preparing legal documents, and meeting with legal professionals related to the trial are all responsibilities of a Paralegal.

Scroll down for our free Paralegal job ad template!

What is in a Paralegal’s job description?

The work of a Paralegal is aimed at helping a lawyer prepare for trial. This includes tasks such as performing legal research into cases and laws or filing appeals to the court. They are heavily involved in the legal process and often function as a lawyer’s right hand.

Essential parts of a Paralegal’s job description:

Paralegals work closely with lawyers, clients, and court representatives. That said, a large part of their time will be spent independently researching and studying.
Their educational background is almost exclusively in Law or a specific subsection of law.
Although not always, Paralegals are often lawyers in training, which means their career path is aimed at becoming a lawyer themselves.
Paralegals need to demonstrate incredible research skills and eye for detail as the slightest mistake can swing the result of a court case.

Interview questions available

Also see our Paralegal interview questions

Paralegal Job Description Example

Be clear in your description. Know the tasks of the role and ideally who the candidate should be.
This means you won’t need to read through too many CVs to find your superstar.
You might be tempted to use bullet points in this section, but resist the urge! Tell a story, show off all the cool things they would be responsible for, and get them excited to apply.
You should be more focused on your company culture and what your mission is, instead of their daily tasks.

About the role

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Deutsch

We are looking for an experienced Paralegal to conduct legal research, prepare documents, and assist our team of lawyers with a variety of other tasks. You will be of vital importance to our business, helping our lawyers better prepare for their cases to ultimately increase the chances of them being successful in court.

Some of your many responsibilities include performing legal research and developing legal arguments. You will also be responsible for drafting a variety of legal documents including subpoenas, motions, pleadings, and contracts. Outside of research and written documentation, you will also be interviewing witnesses and clients, so excellent communication skills are required as well.

As a Paralegal at {Company_Name}, you have the chance to positively affect the lives of so many people while gaining valuable, hands-on experience in the field. Are you up for the challenge? Then apply now!

Du bist eine kommunikationsstarke Person mit einer Leidenschaft für juristische Themen? Wir suchen einen erfahrenen Paralegal (m/w/d), der juristische Recherchen durchführt, Dokumente vorbereitet und unser Anwaltsteam bei einer Vielzahl anderer Aufgaben unterstützt. Du wirst für unser Unternehmen von entscheidender Bedeutung sein, da du unseren Anwälten hilfst, sich besser auf ihre Fälle vorzubereiten, um die Chancen auf ihren Erfolg vor Gericht zu maximieren.

Zu deinen Aufgaben gehören u. a. die Durchführung von Recherchen und die Ausarbeitung juristischer Argumente. Darüber hinaus bist du für das Verfassen einer Vielzahl von Vorladungen, Anträgen, Schriftsätzen und Verträgen zuständig. Neben der Recherche und der schriftlichen Dokumentation befragst du auch Zeugen und Mandanten.

Als Paralegal bei {Unternehmen_Name} hast du die Chance, das Leben vieler Menschen positiv zu beeinflussen und gleichzeitig wertvolle praktische Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich zu sammeln. Bist du bereit für diese Herausforderung? Dann bewirb dich jetzt!

This section is all about your candidate's experience and responsibilities. You should outline very clearly what they should expect from the job role, not from the company itself.
You should use language that speaks to the candidate directly, use of “you”, “we” and “our” are all positives.
Hard skills in this section are important, but don’t overlook the significance of soft skills, like communication and being a team player, these can make a huge difference to the way people work alongside each other and gel professionally.
What do you believe in, and what are your core values?

Paralegal Responsibilities

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Remember these are example responsibilities, not all of these will be relevant to your specific Paralegal job ad. Please edit the text to match your company’s needs.

• Conduct legal research to support our firm’s cases.
• Prepare a variety of legal documents including affidavits, deposition notices, motions, subpoenas, contracts, and pleadings.
• Hold meetings and interviews with clients and witnesses to further support and complement your research findings.
• Filing documents with courts.
• Any other tasks that further help our lawyers prepare for court cases.

Denken Sie daran, dass es sich hier um Beispiele für Aufgaben handelt, die nicht alle für Ihre spezifische Stellenanzeige relevant sind. Bitte passen Sie die Angaben an die Bedürfnisse Ihres Unternehmens an.

• Du führst juristische Recherchen zur Unterstützung der Fälle unserer Kanzlei durch.
• Du untersuchst Sachverhalte und sammelst Dokumente und Beweise.
• Du bereitest eine Vielzahl von juristischen Dokumenten vor, darunter eidesstattliche Erklärungen, Mitteilungen über Zeugenaussagen, Anträge, Vorladungen, Verträge und Schriftsätze.
• Du führst Besprechungen mit Mandanten und Zeugen durch, um deine Rechercheergebnisse zu unterstützen und zu ergänzen.
• Du reichst Dokumente bei den Gerichten ein.
• Du unterstützt unsere Anwälte bei der Vorbereitung von Gerichtsprozessen.

This section is essential to finding the candidate with the skills and qualifications that will help them in their job role.
This should be clear and concise and set boundaries for submissions.
The more information you add to your skills section, the less candidates you’ll have to sift through to find the right one.
This would waste both your time and the potential candidate so avoid being wordy as much as possible. Think about what would be an essential part of this role, and what would the applicant need to be successful in the job?

Paralegal Requirements

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Deutsch

Remember these are example requirements, not all of these will be relevant to your specific Paralegal job ad. Please edit the text to match your company’s needs.

• Degree in Paralegal Studies or equivalent.
• 2-3 years of experience as a Paralegal or a similar position.
• Strong research skills with high attention to detail.
• Experience in writing/preparing a variety of legal documents.
• Proficiency with legal database software.
• Proficiency with word processing and spreadsheet software.
• Excellent organisational skills and an ability to meet tight deadlines.

Denken Sie daran, dass es sich hierbei um Beispielanforderungen handelt, die nicht alle auf Ihre spezifische Stellenanzeige zutreffen dürften. Bitte passen Sie den Text entsprechend den Anforderungen Ihres Unternehmens an.

• Du bringst einen Hochschulabschluss (Bachelor oder Master) der Rechtswissenschaften oder einem ähnlich gelagerten Fachbereich mit.
• Du verfügst über 2-3 Jahre Erfahrung als Paralegal oder in einer ähnlich gelagerten Position.
• Du besitzt ausgeprägte Recherchefähigkeiten und hegst viel Liebe zum Detail.
• Du bist erfahren im Verfassen/Vorbereiten einer Vielzahl von juristischen Dokumenten.
• Du beherrschst einen sicheren Umgang mit juristischer Datenbanksoftware.
• Du beherrschst Textverarbeitungs- und Tabellenkalkulationssoftware.
• Du bringst hervorragende organisatorische Fähigkeiten mit und bist in der Lage, knappe Fristen einzuhalten.

Need inspiration?

Your job description will not attract talent all on its own. So when putting together your job post, be sure to show what it's like working at your company not just textually but visually!

Remember, attracting a candidate is just as much about your company culture as the job role itself. Make sure to include points that make you seem desirable too!
Add photos that show off your office space, team events and your team having a great time.
Maybe you could include a video of some team members explaining why they love coming to work, or why they like their role.
Include a grid of attractive perks with some nice illustrations. Maybe you have unlimited holidays, or you have an attractive parental leave cover - show off!
Why not embed your company's Instagram feed to give a IRL overview of the day-to-day.