Resume template · Updated October 2026
Paralegal resume template
Short answer
Meridian suits a paralegal because skills print above experience, so the review platforms, research tools and filing systems an attorney checks for are read first, and the page uses no colour, which keeps it conservative for law firms. The fictional sample is a litigation paralegal at a commercial litigation firm who started as a legal assistant at a personal injury practice and holds NALA's Certified Paralegal credential.
Download the paralegal sample
Hannah is a fictional litigation paralegal. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Meridian suits a paralegal resume
Meridian puts skills above work experience, so Relativity, Westlaw and federal e-filing appear before the jobs, which is what a litigation partner or paralegal manager scans for. It uses no colour and only grey rules, a sober look that fits law firm hiring, and its labelled rows keep legal tasks apart from software.
Second choice: Henrietta. Henrietta is equally conservative and prints education right after experience, a better fit if a recent paralegal certificate is your main qualification.
What goes in each section, in Meridian's order
Meridian prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Practice area, the kind of matters (commercial disputes, personal injury, employment), the courts you file in and your credential. Attorneys hire paralegals by practice area first, so put it in the opening words.
- Skills. Litigation tasks (discovery management, privilege logs, deposition and trial preparation, cite checking) in one row, software in another: review platform, research database, document management, e-filing. Meridian prints labelled rows, so each stays readable.
- Work Experience. Caseload and practice area in the first bullet, then concrete work product: productions managed, privilege logs built, trial exhibits prepared, deadlines tracked. Describe matters by type and size, never by client name.
- Education. Degree and any paralegal certificate, each with the year. If your certificate program holds a particular accreditation, copy its exact wording from the school.
- Certifications. A paralegal credential such as NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP), with the year. Meridian prints certifications near the end, so the sample also names it in the headline.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Hannah Kessler
Litigation Paralegal, Certified Paralegal (CP)
Philadelphia, PA | hannah.kessler@example.com | (215) 555-0146 | linkedin.com/in/sample-hannah-kessler
Litigation paralegal with seven years in commercial and personal injury cases, now supporting four partners on breach of contract and business tort disputes in state and federal court. Manages discovery from collection to production, builds privilege logs and prepares trial exhibits. NALA Certified Paralegal.
Experience
Litigation Paralegal, Whitcombe and Ames LLP, Philadelphia, PA (09/2021 to Present)
- Support four partners and six associates on about 25 active commercial litigation matters.
- Manage document productions of up to 60,000 pages in Relativity, including Bates numbering, redactions and privilege logs reviewed by associates.
- Prepared exhibit lists, witness binders and courtroom technology for three trials, two of them in federal court.
- Draft subpoenas, deposition notices and discovery responses for attorney review, and e-file through CM/ECF and the county court portal.
- Keep the team litigation calendar, entering and double-checking deadlines on the day each order arrives.
Legal Assistant, Delancey Injury Law, Philadelphia, PA (06/2019 to 08/2021)
- Requested and organized medical records and bills for about 80 open personal injury files.
- Drafted demand package summaries for attorney review and tracked settlement offers.
- Answered client calls about case status and scheduled medical examinations.
Education
Paralegal Certificate, Schuylkill Valley Community College (05/2019)
BA, Political Science, Keystone Ridge University (05/2018)
Certifications
- Certified Paralegal (CP), NALA (2022)
Skills
Discovery management, Privilege logs, Deposition preparation, Trial exhibits, Cite checking, Legal research, Relativity, Westlaw, CM/ECF, iManage, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Deadline discipline, Discretion
How to make the sample yours
Name your practice area in the headline
Change "Litigation Paralegal" to corporate, real estate, immigration, family or IP if that is your work. A paralegal manager filters by practice area before anything else.
Size your discovery work
Write the scale you handled ("productions of up to 60,000 pages", "25 active matters") rather than "assisted with discovery".
Swap the software for your firm's
Relativity, Everlaw, Westlaw, Lexis, iManage, NetDocuments: list the ones you use, since firms often name their review platform in the posting.
Give trial work its own bullet
If you have been to trial, say how many trials and your role (exhibits, witness binders, courtroom technology). Litigation teams look for it, and it is easy to miss inside a general bullet.
Keep client details out
Never name clients, opposing parties or confidential matters. "A breach of contract dispute between two manufacturers" says enough.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- litigation paralegal
- discovery management
- document review
- privilege log
- deposition preparation
- trial preparation
- exhibit binders
- e-filing
- CM/ECF
- legal research
- Westlaw
- Relativity
- Bates numbering
- calendaring deadlines
- Certified Paralegal (CP)
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing "legal research" with no database, task or result.
- Naming clients, opposing parties or sealed matters.
- Wording that makes it sound as if you advised clients or signed filings yourself; describe drafting and preparing work for attorney review.
- A generic summary with no practice area in it.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
Should a paralegal list both a degree and a paralegal certificate?
Yes. List each with the school and year; the certificate shows legal training and the degree shows general education. If you have only one, that is fine: experience and practice area carry more weight as your career grows.
What changes on a litigation paralegal resume compared with a corporate one?
Litigation resumes show discovery, depositions, trial preparation and court filing. Corporate resumes show entity formation, closings, due diligence and board minutes. The layout stays the same; the bullets and keywords change completely.
Is the Certified Paralegal (CP) credential worth listing?
Yes, if you hold it. NALA describes the CP as a nationally accredited certification, and some postings ask for it by name. Put it in the headline as well as the certifications section, since that section prints near the end.
How do I show trial experience on a paralegal resume?
Give it a dedicated bullet: how many trials, which court and what you prepared (exhibits, witness binders, courtroom technology). Trial work is rarer than discovery work, so make it easy to spot.
How do I describe confidential matters?
By type, size and court: "commercial breach of contract matter in federal court, 60,000-page production". Leave out the names of clients and opposing parties and anything under seal.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Meridian PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- NALA: Certification (NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) credential is a nationally accredited certification; NCCA granted accreditation on April 30, 2014)
- NALA: Certified Paralegal (exact credential name, Certified Paralegal (CP); NALA also has an Advanced Certified Paralegal designation)
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