10 Skills You Need to Be a Paralegal

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You need specific skills to be a successful paralegal in the dynamic legal field. After all, you have a lot of responsibilities in this role. You conduct legal research, interview clients and witnesses, and file important paperwork with the courts on behalf of your law firm. So, you need a range of technical and soft skills including a good eye for detail, a sharp memory, legal writing abilities, and people skills. But there are more. Check out the ten skills you need to be a paralegal and decide which you might already have.

1. Paralegals Must Have Excellent Attention to Detail

There’s no room for error in the legal field. Accuracy is critical in legal documents, filings, and deadlines; even small mistakes can have serious consequences. A misspelled name, incorrect birthdate, or a numerical error could harm or even lose a case. It’s important to have a good eye for detail as a paralegal so you catch costly mistakes before they cause damage. An ability to read body language and listen to clues in the way someone answers questions are also good skills to have in the legal field. Your insight into human behavior and ability to read people can become an invaluable resource to your legal team.

2. Paralegal Organizational Skills

You must be well-organized as a paralegal because you need to manage large volumes of documents, deadlines, and case details with zero margin for error. Your organizational skills ensure that court filings are submitted on time, client records are accessible, and attorneys have what they need to build strong cases. Disorganization could lead to missed deadlines, lost evidence, or compliance violations, each of which can jeopardize a case or a client’s legal rights. When you’re well-organized, you keep workflows efficient, reduce stress on the legal team, and contribute to the overall success of your firm.

3. Sharp Memory

A good memory can also come in handy, especially when you interview clients and witnesses. Stories may overlap or not jive at all, and it will be crucial to remember what your interviewees said during previous conversations to decide what’s factual and who’s telling the truth. A good memory can also help you recall important statues or legal precedents that can help with a case, cutting down on some of your research time.

4. Time Management Skills

Because you may need to juggle multiple cases, deadlines, and tasks—often simultaneously—your time management skills make you a more efficient paralegal. Courts and attorneys rely on timely filings, accurate document preparation, and prompt client communication. Effective time management helps you prioritize urgent tasks, stay on schedule, and support attorneys without creating bottlenecks. It also helps maintain a steady workflow and increase productivity in fast-paced legal environments. When you manage your time well, it helps the whole legal team perform better.

5. People Skills

A day in the life of a paralegal allows you to interact with many different people. From attorneys and coworkers to defendants and judges, you meet and engage with people from all walks of life. Your innate people skills can help you gain respect with every interaction. Whether you are comforting a victim as you take their statement or taking down facts from an eyewitness, your ability to make people feel at ease can also encourage them to be truthful. Approach each person with empathy and compassion and build a good rapport with them to show them they can trust you.

6. Ethical Integrity for Law

To uphold the law, you need a strong sense of ethical integrity. You should act with honesty, candor, and professionalism at all times. Never misrepresent yourself or your clients or step outside your scope of duties. Always disclose potential conflicts of interest and maintain the attorney-client privilege even though you aren’t acting as an attorney. The more you lead with ethics, the more you develop trust among your co-workers and clients.

7. Paralegals Need Sound Computer Skills

Just about every aspect of modern legal work is digital. You use legal research databases, draft documents in word processors, manage case files in legal software, and file court documents electronically. Familiarity with spreadsheet tools, email systems, and secure document sharing helps you stay organized and communicate quickly and confidentially with clients and attorneys. You should also know how to check for notifications, resubmit documentation when it has been rejected, and pay processing fees through the e-filing portal. Strong paralegal computer skills allow you to work efficiently, accurately, and collaboratively—especially in fast-paced environments where deadlines are tight.

8. Paralegals Need Good Research Skills

Certainly, one of the most important skills you need to be a paralegal is the ability to conduct legal research. Using public records, open web sources, or Westlaw and LexisNexis databases, you search for important information that could help your legal team win their case. This could include legal precedents, relevant legal statues, or state codes that could impact a ruling. It’s also important to research the legal issue or topic that pertains to the case to gain a better understanding of what the client is trying to achieve and what supporting evidence you need to gather. Thorough research ensures that legal documents are accurate, compliant, and tailored to the specifics of each case or jurisdiction.

9. Paralegal and Law Writing

Hand-in-hand with your research comes your ability to take all the information you gathered and present it well in a written format. You might draft legal documents like wills, resolutions, motions, briefs, and plea agreements under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Or you might interview witnesses, take notes, and draft statements. You need to know how to prepare these documents using exact language because the words you submit to the court could lend credibility to the case, add persuasion to your argument, and possibly affect the reputation of your firm. Be sure you understand the audience for each document and that you write clearly and professionally, using neutral, factual wording without any unnecessary information.

10. Paralegals Know Compliance Laws

As you work on legal cases, you may become privy to client or witness information that needs to be kept confidential. If you work for a firm that handles medical malpractices, you need to have a basic understanding of HIPAA laws to keep patient medical information private. Other compliance laws you should know include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Do you possess any of the 10 skills you need to be a paralegal? Charter College can help you develop those you have and learn new skills! We offer an Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal that can prepare you for an entry-level career in law. The program can be completed online for convenience and flexibility. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn m

888.200.9942