Is it hard to get a job as a paralegal?

Dec 20, 2022

Written By Sophie Wilson

Paralegal jobs are a good way to gain experience of what using the law is like in a professional real-world environment, and a great way to get used to working in practice. Paralegals are key players in legal departments, and so applying for these roles can be challenging.

What is a paralegal?

A paralegal takes on many tasks. They typically conduct legal research for a member of the team who is unsure on a certain aspect of the law. Paralegals also prepare legal documents, interview clients, and conduct legal research.

Paralegals work within their department, and so work alongside qualified solicitors, associates and partners. A lot of the role is about supporting these legal professionals and completing any tasks that they set you.

A paralegal can work in a variety of sectors, from private client to real estate. The type of work done within each department will vary, and so when applying it is important to decide what type of work you would like to do.

What is the average salary of a paralegal?

Paralegals have some training but are not qualified solicitors or barristers. Their average salary therefore reflects this, and ranges from £15,500 for entry-level to £40,000 for extensive experience.

How do I become a paralegal?

There are numerous ways to become a paralegal. A traditional route is to complete a law degree or a conversion course (PGDL) and then apply directly through law firms and their vacancies pages. Graduates can also apply through legal recruiting agencies, but as a recent student with little experience in the legal field, direct entry is usually thought of as better at this stage.

Another way that is available is through completing a paralegal qualification. These are offered by National Association of Licensed Paralegals, CILEx Law School and Central law Training. There is an entry level course that requires no formal academic qualifications to apply to, and then further courses that increase in difficulty.

These paralegal qualifications are completed remotely, meaning that they can be managed around other commitments and jobs. Although not compulsory, they are a route into gaining a paralegal job without completing a law degree.

How do I improve my chances of gaining a paralegal job?

Here are three tips:

Networking

If law is the field that you want to enter into, then using LinkedIn and going to talks both in person and online is important. The more people that you talk to in the industry, the more chance there is of coming across a vacancy when one arises.

Even if you don’t hear about a job opportunity, you’ll still gain valuable information about what life as a paralegal is like and how you can make your application stand out.

Apply to a variety of roles

If you have one specific interest, such as property litigation, then it is best to apply to paralegal roles related to the broader topic. This means applying not just to property litigation departments but also to some real estate or to some residential development roles.

It is important to not be too narrow minded in these applications, it’s still legal experience after all!

Temporary contracts

FlexLegal is an organisation that advertises temporary jobs, such as document reviewing. These types of jobs allow an insight into the responsibilities for a paralegal and are valuable for a CV.

FlexLegal is a recruitment site, and so once you have been accepted, they will fit your criteria to jobs they have available. This also limits the stress of searching through multiple firm websites searching for vacancies.

So, is it hard?

Finding and securing a paralegal role can be hard, but there are still ways you can make your application stand out. Applying to a wide variety of roles, networking, and gaining legal experience will definitely improve your chances.

Paralegal Work