How to hire a paralegal

If you have a law firm that’s growing, you might get caught up in small administrative tasks that will eat away at your precious time to do what you really want – practicing law. That’s where hiring an experienced paralegal can really make a difference and help you and your attorneys gain back hours every week.

While they can’t actually practice law themselves, paralegals play an important role in any law firm, because they can help you with administrative tasks, do legal research, and prepare documentation for your cases.

When it comes to their skills, paralegals should have great communication and verbal reasoning skills; ideally, they also need legal assistant experience. 

This article will guide you through the paralegal hiring process, explaining: 

• What a paralegal is

• What skills to test for when hiring one

• Where to find skilled paralegals

• How much you can expect to pay them

What is a paralegal? 

A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, is a professional who works in the legal field and assists lawyers and attorneys in various legal tasks. 

Paralegals are not licensed attorneys, but they play a crucial role in supporting legal professionals and law firms. Their responsibilities can vary depending on the jurisdiction, law firm size, and specific areas of law they are involved in. 

Typically a paralegal’s duties are a mix of the following:

• Legal research: Paralegals are skilled in conducting legal research, which involves investigating case law, statutes, regulations, and other legal sources to support attorneys in building their arguments and preparing cases.

• Document preparation: They assist in drafting and preparing legal documents such as pleadings, contracts, agreements, and other legal correspondence.

• Case management: Paralegals often take charge of managing case files, organizing documents, and ensuring deadlines and court schedules are met.

• Interviewing clients and witnesses: They may interview clients and witnesses to gather relevant information and prepare summaries for attorneys.

• Trial preparation: During trial preparations, paralegals help organize evidence, prepare exhibits, and assist in coordinating witnesses.

• Administrative tasks: Paralegals handle administrative duties like maintaining and updating legal databases, billing, and scheduling.

• Client communication: They often interact with clients, answering inquiries and providing updates on case progress. 

Paralegals typically work under the supervision of attorneys and in close cooperation with them.

Paralegal skills to test for

Now that you know what a paralegal does, let’s see what skills you should test for when looking to hire one. 

Below, you’ll also find information about some of the best skills tests you can use to hire your next paralegal. If you use TestGorilla, you can combine up to five skills tests in a single assessment; each test takes about 10 minutes to complete. 

We’ve handpicked five tests that are highly relevant to the role of a paralegal, but feel free to check out our test library if you need to evaluate different skills.

Legal-assistance skills

Paralegals need the right skills to provide legal-assistance support to attorneys, such as: 

• Filings and preparations for hearings

• Client intake and client management

• General administrative skills

You can evaluate all those things with our Legal Assistant (US) test, which aims to evaluate a candidate’s skills in providing comprehensive support to attorneys and law firms in the United States. The test is non-state-specific, meaning that you can use it for hiring a paralegal in any US location.

With this test, law firms and attorneys will have a reliable and objective overview of the skills and abilities of each candidate. 

Applicants who perform well here have the knowledge to support law firms and help them organize their administrative work and be better equipped to meet client needs. 

Communication

A paralegal needs to have excellent communication skills in order to convey messages to clients and colleagues clearly and efficiently, using professional etiquette. 

TestGorilla’s Communication test is designed to evaluate someone’s abilities to understand and interpret information, listen actively, and summarize messages effectively. 

Candidates who perform well are able to communicate with authority and confidence and can understand the other side and offer empathy. This is an important sub-skill for paralegals, especially when interviewing clients or witnesses. 

Administrative skills

As mentioned, the paralegal is there to support your legal firm in any way possible. A big part of their duties is related to administrative work. 

The Administrative Assistant test will help you identify candidates who have strong attention to detail, are good problem solvers, and organize and manage their time efficiently. 

This test will aid you in finding an applicant who has a proven track record as an administrative assistant and can support and improve your everyday business processes. 

Critical thinking

Paralegals work with sensitive information that needs to be filed and interpreted in the fastest possible way, so your ideal candidate needs to have strong critical-thinking skills in order to support you with difficult cases.

Our Critical Thinking test will help you find candidates who can evaluate information and make sound judgments using their analytical skills. 

Having the ability to think independently and solve complex problems is a must for any legal professional. With this test, you can evaluate those skills objectively.

Verbal reasoning 

Another analytical skill to look for during your paralegal hiring process is verbal reasoning. Having this ability enables paralegals to easily comprehend cases, reports, and complex legal documentation and synthesize key information effectively.

The Verbal Reasoning test will help you identify applicants who are able to recognize logical relationships between statements and arrive at valid conclusions. In the law world, one must be able to capture the smallest nuances in words, so testing for this skill will help you find a truly capable paralegal. 

Read this next: How to assess paralegal skills

Why test a paralegal’s skills?

When you’re looking to hire a paralegal (or any other professional, for that matter), you want to find the ones who are skillful at their trade and have the knowledge to support your business. 

While someone may look good on paper, they might not be cut out for the job. Experience is not a good predictor for job performance and neither are resumes. Unfortunately, you’d most likely find out about their lack of skills once you hire them, which will cost you time and resources in the long run.

This can all be avoided if you use the pre-employment skills tests, like the ones TestGorilla offers.

Pre-employment skills testing is a recruitment method where you test your candidate’s skills before inviting them over for an interview. This way, you sift through unqualified candidates, avoid bad hires, and minimize biased hiring. 

This way, you can make sure to find the best candidates for your business, which will save you money and headaches in the future. 

If you’re still unsure about the benefits of skills testing, book a 30-minute discovery call with one of our specialists, and they’ll explain everything in more detail. 

Where to find paralegals?

As with most jobs, you can employ a paralegal on a regular or freelance basis. 

If you have a large law firm with lots of attorneys who need legal assistance, consider hiring a full-time paralegal or even batch hiring for a few positions at once. Not only will you save on recruitment costs in the long run, but you’ll also be able to onboard and train your paralegals together, which will make the entire process more efficient. 

On the other hand, if you’re running a small law firm and have an increase in cases that require a lot of admin work, hiring a freelance paralegal might be more suitable for you. You hire them to help you during your busiest period, and then you can let them go once things cool down. 

Once you decide whether you’re going to hire a full-time or a freelance paralegal, you can start searching for candidates. There are several ways to do this:

• Referrals: Asking for referrals from friends and colleagues can be one of the best ways to find qualified professionals. Ask for their details and contact them. If they’re interested in the position, put them through a skills assessment to ensure they’re up for the job. 

• Freelance platforms: Job boards like Fiverr or Upwork are excellent for finding freelance paralegals. Make sure to filter candidates by their locations, years of experience, and qualifications to find individuals that best meet your criteria. 

• Job boards: On traditional job boards like LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, and Glassdoor, you can find full-time and freelance paralegals. You can either post a job ad and invite all candidates to take a skills assessment or search for legal assistants in your area and invite them to apply. 

• Paralegal associations: Another place to look for a paralegal is through associations like The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). You can contact their headquarters and ask for referrals for paralegals in your area. 

How much does a paralegal cost?

According to Salary.com, the average hourly wage for a paralegal in the United States is $32, with a medium range between $28 and $36. 

As always, these numbers are based on location, years of experience, qualifications, and specializations. 

Regardless of whether a paralegal charges more, they are much less expensive to employ than a regular attorney and can significantly reduce the costs for any law firm by helping you streamline admin work. 

Paralegal job description template

Below, you’ll find a sample job description that you can use when searching for a paralegal; adjust it to your needs and requirements for the role as needed.

Job title: Paralegal 

Job description:

We are seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented paralegal to join our team. The successful candidate will provide comprehensive legal support, assisting our attorneys with tasks such as case research, document preparation, and witness interviews. 

This role requires a thorough understanding of legal terminology, excellent research skills, and strong written and oral communication abilities.

Responsibilities:

• Support attorneys in trial preparation, including preparing exhibits and evidence

• Conduct legal research and fact-finding investigations, including interviewing clients and witnesses when necessary

• Organize and maintain case files and legal documents to ensure information is easy to find

• Assist with the preparation and filing of legal documents, such as pleadings, motions, and briefs

• Coordinate and schedule meetings, court dates, and calls

• Make sure we’re able to meet all due dates

• Draft routine legal documents, such as affidavits and deposition notices

• Liaise with clients, witnesses, court personnel, and other legal professionals

• Stay informed about new regulations, laws, and legal articles that may impact current cases

Requirements:

• Associate’s or Bachelor's degree in Paralegal Studies or a related field

• Minimum of [X] years of experience as a paralegal or in a similar role

• Knowledge of legal terminology, the court system, and legal procedures

• Proficiency in legal research tools and software

• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to handle multiple tasks and meet deadlines

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong attention to detail and problem-solving abilities

• High level of integrity and confidentiality

How to apply:

[Describe the application process here; mention skills tests if you’ll be using those to assess applicants’ skills]

Paralegal interview questions

Once you identify the most suitable candidates with the help of skills tests, you can invite them to an interview to gain a deeper understanding of their expertise and abilities. 

Here are some interview questions you can ask paralegals: 

1. What areas of law are you most experienced in, and how did you gain this experience?

2. Can you describe a time when your research made a significant impact on a case?

3. How do you manage your workload when working on multiple cases simultaneously?

4. How do you ensure accuracy and attention to detail in your work, especially when under pressure?

5. Tell me about a challenging case you worked on. What was your role in it and how did you contribute to the outcome?

6. Can you describe your experience with helping attorneys prepare for trials or hearings?

7. What would you do if a coworker asked you to share confidential information about a case they’re not involved with?

8. What is your research process? What steps do you typically take when you need to research a new case?

9. Have you ever had to deal with a difficult attorney? If so, how did you handle the situation?

10. What are the most challenging aspects of being a paralegal for you?

If you need more inspiration, check out our selection of administrative-assistant interview questions or our 50 behavioral questions to evaluate your candidates’ preparedness to deal with complex situations at the workplace. 

Find a qualified paralegal with TestGorilla

Paralegals play a central role in streamlining attorneys’ and law firms’ work, so finding the right person for the job is essential for the success of your team. A bad hire will not only cause frustration and cost you money but might even make you miss important deadlines or lose clients’ cases. 

With skills tests, you can easily find skilled paralegals who have the right qualifications and skill set to perform their duties and set your team for success. With TestGorilla, you can easily evaluate candidates’ legal assistance, communication, and critical thinking skills to make the right hiring decision with confidence and ease. 

Sign up for your free plan today or book a live 30-minute demo with one of our specialists who will show you how to make the most of the platform. 

Don’t leave anything to chance. Hire the best paralegals with TestGorilla.