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Public sector, legal and compliance · Mid level · US conventions

Paralegal (litigation): resume example, explained

This fictional example shows a litigation paralegal with six years' experience, the last four at a mid-sized firm, applying for a senior paralegal role: caseload and document-review volumes stated as numbers, drafting described as work prepared for attorney review, and confidentiality shown as practice rather than a promise. Each decision is explained, three weak bullets are rewritten from the evidence behind them, and the editable download lets you replace every detail with your own. Nothing here describes a real person, firm or matter.

Illustrative example. An illustrative, invented litigation paralegal with six years' experience, the last four at a fictional mid-sized civil litigation firm in Denver, applying for a senior litigation paralegal post at a larger firm. Every employer, matter, date and figure is fictional.

Editable version of this example (.docx)

The example document

Marisol Vega-Hartley

Litigation Paralegal · Civil litigation and e-discovery · Six years, four at a mid-sized firm

Denver, Colorado · 555-0142 · marisol.vega-hartley@example.com

Profile

Litigation paralegal with six years' experience, the last four supporting commercial and employment litigation at a fictional 40-attorney firm. Manages the docket and case files for around 35 active matters, coordinates document review on e-discovery platforms, and drafts discovery, deposition summaries and routine motions for attorney review. Seeking a senior paralegal role with responsibility for review-team coordination and junior paralegal training.

Experience

Litigation Paralegal — Fictional Ridgeline Law Group LLP

June 2022 – present · Fictional mid-sized firm of around 40 attorneys; commercial litigation and employment defense practice groups.

  • Manage case files and the docket calendar for around 35 active civil matters for six attorneys, calculating deadlines under state and federal civil rules, with no missed court deadline in three years.
  • Coordinate document review on the firm's e-discovery platform: processed and reviewed around 180,000 documents in 2024, setting up review batches, coding panels and privilege logs for review teams of up to eight contract reviewers.
  • Draft discovery requests and responses, deposition summaries and routine motions for attorney review and signature; completed around 60 deposition summaries in the past two years.
  • Prepare exhibit lists, witness files and hearing binders for 4 trials and around 20 evidentiary hearings, including same-day exhibit corrections in court.
  • Run conflict checks on every new matter before intake and handle privileged materials under the firm's confidentiality policy, with no reported confidentiality incident.
  • Train two junior paralegals on docketing and review-platform setup, writing the one-page review-batch checklist now used by both practice groups.

Legal Assistant — Fictional Front Range Legal Aid (a fictional nonprofit)

August 2020 – June 2022 · Fictional nonprofit legal aid office handling housing and family matters.

  • Prepared client intake files and court forms for around 25 new housing and family matters a month under attorney supervision, and maintained the office's hearing calendar.
  • Organized client documents and correspondence for 3 staff attorneys, scanning and indexing files into the case management system within one working day of receipt.

Education

  • Paralegal certificate — Fictional Community College, 2020
  • Bachelor of Arts, Political Science — Fictional State University, 2019

Professional development

  • Continuing education in e-discovery and electronic evidence, 2024
  • Notary public, commissioned 2023

Skills

Docketing and deadline calculation under state and federal civil rules · E-discovery: document processing, review batching, coding panels, privilege logs · Drafting discovery, deposition summaries and routine motions for attorney review · Trial and hearing preparation: exhibits, witness files, binders · Legal research databases and citation checking · Conflict checks, matter intake and confidentiality procedures

Bullet rewrites, and the evidence behind them

Each rewrite was produced by asking an evidence question and using only the (fictional) answer. No number appears in a rewrite that is not in its evidence.

  1. Before

    Assisted attorneys with discovery and drafting.

    Evidence question

    How many matters and attorneys, what exactly did you draft, and who reviewed it?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Six attorneys; around 35 active matters; drafts discovery requests and responses, deposition summaries and routine motions; around 60 deposition summaries in two years; every draft reviewed and signed by the supervising attorney.

    After

    Draft discovery requests and responses, deposition summaries and routine motions for six attorneys across around 35 active matters, all for attorney review and signature; around 60 deposition summaries completed in the past two years.

  2. Before

    Experienced with e-discovery software.

    Evidence question

    What volume did you handle, what did you set up, and how many reviewers relied on it?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Around 180,000 documents processed and reviewed in 2024; set up review batches, coding panels and privilege logs; review teams of up to eight contract reviewers.

    After

    Coordinated e-discovery review of around 180,000 documents in 2024, setting up review batches, coding panels and privilege logs for teams of up to eight contract reviewers.

  3. Before

    Responsible for calendaring deadlines.

    Evidence question

    How many matters, under which rules, and what is the record?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Docket calendar for around 35 active matters; deadlines calculated under state and federal civil rules; no missed court deadline in three years.

    After

    Maintain the docket calendar for around 35 active matters, calculating deadlines under state and federal civil rules, with no missed court deadline in three years.

Try it on your own bullets with the bullet workbench, which asks the same questions and never adds a figure you did not supply.

Transferable skills in this example

  • Deadline-driven case management

    Evidence: Maintains a docket for around 35 matters with deadlines calculated under court rules and no misses in three years.

    Where it helps: Project coordination, contracts administration, compliance and any role where dated obligations must be tracked without error.

  • High-volume document review and quality control

    Evidence: Set up and coordinated review of around 180,000 documents with coding panels and privilege logs for a team of eight.

    Where it helps: Records management, due-diligence support, claims handling and audit-support roles.

  • Drafting to a standard for someone else's signature

    Evidence: Discovery, deposition summaries and routine motions prepared for attorney review, around 60 summaries in two years.

    Where it helps: Policy, regulatory-affairs, grant-writing and executive-support roles that draft for approval.

  • Handling confidential information under written procedure

    Evidence: Conflict checks before intake and privileged-material handling under firm policy.

    Where it helps: HR, finance, healthcare administration and any role covered by privacy or confidentiality rules.

Occupation notes

Hard requirements

  • Paralegals in the US work under the supervision of a licensed attorney and may not give legal advice, set fees or represent clients in court; write every drafting and client-contact bullet so that line stays clear, because firms screen for it.
  • Paralegal certification is voluntary and employer-specific; several national paralegal associations offer credentials. State any you hold with the awarding body and year, and never present coursework or an exam in progress as a credential held.
  • Education expectations vary by firm: an associate degree or certificate in paralegal studies, or a bachelor's degree plus a certificate, are common routes. State exactly what you have, with program and year.

Vocabulary that belongs on the page

  • Docket, docketing, calendaring (deadline tracking under court rules)
  • Discovery: interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission, subpoenas
  • ESI (electronically stored information), e-discovery, processing, document review, coding
  • Privilege review, privilege log, clawback
  • Deposition summary or digest, exhibit list, witness file
  • Cite-checking and Bluebook citation format
  • Conflict check, engagement letter, matter intake
  • Unauthorized practice of law (UPL): the boundary a paralegal must not cross

Pitfalls specific to this occupation

  • Writing bullets that imply independent legal judgment ('advised clients on their options', 'decided case strategy'); a hiring attorney reads this as a UPL risk, not initiative.
  • Listing e-discovery and case management products as the skill itself, with no volume or setup detail, so the reader cannot tell a user from a coordinator.
  • Naming clients, opposing parties or recognizable matter details on the resume; it breaches confidentiality and shows poor judgment to the firm reading it.
  • Mixing legal secretary duties (scheduling, dictation, billing entry) into a paralegal resume without separating them from substantive work, which lowers the perceived level for a mid-level paralegal role.

UK and US differences

  • UK: In the UK, 'paralegal' is used more broadly and is often a step before a training contract or qualifying work experience; describe the work done and the supervision arrangement rather than relying on the title.
  • US: Paralegal titles vary by firm ('paralegal', 'legal assistant', 'litigation support specialist'); mirror the posting's title in your headline only if the work matches, and explain the difference in the bullets.
  • US: Resumes are usually uploaded to a firm's applicant tracking system as a document; keep the structure plain so that dates, titles and skills parse cleanly.

US occupation: Paralegals and Legal Assistants (O*NET code 23-2011.00, O*NET 31.0 Database (O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy)). O*NET 31.0 Database code and title are used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration; Luceria paraphrases independently and is not endorsed by O*NET. Identifies the US occupation for readers and search engines; the example's content is Luceria's own and is not derived from O*NET descriptions. Licence.

Common questions

Should a paralegal resume list the e-discovery platforms I have used?

Yes, in the skills line, using the product names the posting uses, so a parser and a reader both find them. In the bullets, describe what you did on the platform (volumes, batches, privilege logs) because that is what shows your level.

How do I show drafting experience without implying I practice law?

Say what you drafted and for whom it was prepared: 'for attorney review and signature'. The volume and type of drafting show competence; the phrasing shows you understand the supervision requirement.

Sources

Keep going

Published 6 November 2026 · Every person, employer and figure in this example is fictional. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards.