Occupation
Paralegal
Carries out substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision, and in a few jurisdictions within an independent licensed scope. The work is close to a lawyer's day: research, drafting, client contact, and running the mechanics of a file.
Also known as: Legal technician · Licensed paralegal
Occupation content
Part of Law, compliance and justice
What the work involves
- Draft pleadings, correspondence, and standard-form legal documents
- Research statutes, regulations, and case law for a supervising lawyer
- Organize disclosure, exhibits, and document briefs ahead of a hearing
- Interview clients and witnesses to gather background for a file
- Track limitation dates, filing deadlines, and court schedules
How people commonly enter
- College paralegal diploma or certificate program
- Bachelor's degree in another field combined with a paralegal certificate
- On-the-job progression from a legal assistant or clerk role
- Licensing or registration where the jurisdiction regulates paralegals directly
Typical training: Certificate or college diploma
Licensing: Regulated in some jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Typical work context
Desk based · Team based · Quiet focus · Predictable routine
Related interests
Conventional (organizing) · Investigative (analytical) · Social (helping)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
- Reading comprehension
- Written communication
- Critical thinking
- Data checking and clerical accuracy
- Planning and scheduling exercises
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Law, compliance and justice.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Paralegals and Legal Assistants · United States
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- Canada NOC (ESDC) — National Occupational Classification search · Canada
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- UK National Careers Service — Paralegal · United Kingdom
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Law, compliance and justice in Canada, not a figure for Paralegal. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Law, compliance and justice family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Law, compliance and justice: education pathways
Some roles in Law, compliance and justice may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Law, compliance and justice: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Paralegal”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)