Paralegal CV Template
The paralegal profession is on a strong upward trend, with an increasing number of large companies, charities and local governments recruiting paralegals to join their own in-house teams. As a result, it’s no surprise that there are over 250,000 paralegals already pursuing this profession across the UK, with numbers expected to steadily grow year-on-year.
The first step to securing a role in this competitive industry however, is to create a high-quality CV. In this article, we'll explore the essential components of a paralegal CV, provide expert tips on what you need to include, and share a sample paralegal CV to help you get started.
What You Need To Include in Your Paralegal CV
When crafting your CV, it’s important you follow a set format to include all of the necessary information. The key areas you need to include are your professional summary, career summary, education history and any relevant skills, detailed below:
Professional Summary
Within this section, you should write a brief summary of your relevant qualifications, expertise, any work experience and your career objectives. Aim to write no more than a single paragraph, as this should simply be an outline of the best areas of your CV.
This is the first section a recruiter or hiring manager will see on your paralegal CV, so it’s important to take some time to perfect this, in order to capture their interest.
Career Summary
This section should list any work experience you have related to the role. Starting with your most relevant experience, list the job title, company name and dates you were employed between. Directly underneath this, use bullet points to outline some of the key aspects of your role. Make sure you read the job description and tailor your bullet points to try and match what they’re looking for.
You can then continue this process for any other relevant experience you have. If you don’t have any previous roles that are directly applicable to the job you’re applying for, list your most recent experience first and work backwards in reverse chronological order.
Education
There are no set qualifications you need to become a paralegal however, most employers will require strong GCSE and A-Level grades. Any additional higher education qualifications will strengthen your application further and could give you a competitive advantage.
Similarly to your career summary, arrange this section of your paralegal CV in reverse chronological order, with your most recent education first.
Skills
Due to the broad nature of a paralegal role, your skills section should list a combination of your key soft and hard skills, to present you as a well-rounded individual. This means you need to highlight the measurable skills you’ve learned (your hard skills), such as technical research tools, as well as any immeasurable skills you have gained over time (your soft skills), such as good communication.
Ensure you modify this section to align with the job specification and use bullet points to arrange your skills in a readable format.
Qualifications/Certifications
Since a paralegal role doesn’t require any additional qualifications, this section may not be relevant to you. If you have any relevant qualifications or certifications from governing bodies, such as being a member of the NALP, you can list them here.
Additional Information
This section isn’t a necessary aspect of your CV but you can use this to highlight some achievements and skills that demonstrate your suitability for the role. For example, you could include volunteering work you’ve undertaken, languages you can speak or awards you’ve won.
You can even include some of your hobbies to help the recruiter get to know you better, however, ensure these aren’t entirely irrelevant to your application.
Paralegal Sample CV:
(maximum two sides of A4)
Full Name
Phone Number
Email
(You can also include your Linkedin profile URL here if you have one)
Professional Summary
A dedicated paralegal with (number) years of experience in (specific area of law), skilled in (mention key skills). An avid communicator, proficient in managing complex legal documentation and adept at using advanced legal research tools to support case outcomes. Passionate about supporting legal teams with thorough case management and research.
Education
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB) | University Name, Location | Month, Year – Month, Year
- Diploma in Paralegal Practice | Institution Name, Location | Month, Year – Month, Year
Career Summary
Paralegal | Law Firm Name, Location | Month, Year – Present
- Assisted in managing (number) cases simultaneously, leading to (specific achievement or outcome).
- Conducted legal research using (mention specific software), contributing to successful litigation outcomes.
- Drafted and reviewed legal documents including contracts, pleadings, and discovery requests.
Paralegal Intern | Law Firm Name, Location | Month, Year – Month, Year
- Supported senior paralegals in document preparation and case file management.
- Gained exposure to client interviews and court proceedings.
Skills
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Qualifications (if applicable)
- Registered paralegal with the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP)
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) qualification
Additional Information (if applicable)
- Fluent in (Language)
- Volunteer work at (Organisation Name), where I (role description or contribution)
- Recipient of (Award Name) for (reason for attaining award)
Once you’ve perfected your CV, you can apply for the latest paralegal jobs on TotallyLegal. Alternatively, you can upload your CV to get headhunted for the latest advertised and non-advertised roles.
At TotallyLegal, we’ve partnered with TopCV, who offer a free professional CV review service. You can upload your CV to their site to start receiving tailored recommendations today.
Alternatively, if you're looking for more information about what the role of a paralegal entails, read our paralegal job description.