Was this sample helpful? Rate it!
Average: 4.6 (29 votes)
Contents
Key Takeaways for a Litigation Paralegal Resume
Why This Litigation Paralegal Resume Works
How to Write a Litigation Paralegal Resume
What to Include in a Litigation Paralegal Resume
Litigation Paralegal Resume Summary Examples
Litigation Paralegal Work Experience Examples
Top Litigation Paralegal Skills
Certifications for a Litigation Paralegal
Litigation Paralegal Salary
Common Litigation Paralegal Resume Mistakes
Litigation Paralegal Resume FAQs
Summary
Litigation paralegal with eight years supporting trial attorneys at litigation firms in New York. Lives in the detail of litigation — managing discovery, organizing exhibits and evidence, drafting pleadings and preparing cases for trial, so the attorneys walk into court fully prepared. Built a discovery and document system that the litigation team relied on through major cases and was trusted to run trial preparation. Manages discovery and document review, drafts pleadings and legal documents, organizes exhibits and case files, prepares for depositions and trial, and supports attorneys in the courtroom. Meticulous, organized and calm under deadline pressure. Looking for a senior litigation-paralegal role with a firm that handles complex, high-stakes cases.
WORK HISTORY
Litigation Paralegal
Hudson Litigation Group, New York, NY
Jan 2019 – Present
- Live in the detail of litigation so the trial attorneys walk into court fully prepared and nothing is missed.
- Built a discovery and document system the team relied on through major cases and was trusted to run trial prep.
- Manage discovery and document review across large volumes, keeping evidence organized, searchable and privileged-checked.
- Draft pleadings, motions and legal documents accurately, turning the attorneys' direction into filed paperwork.
- Organize exhibits and case files for depositions and trial, so the right document is always to hand at the right moment.
- Support the attorneys in the courtroom, keeping the trial running smoothly behind the scenes.
Paralegal
Manhattan Legal Associates, New York, NY
Jan 2017 – Dec 2018
- Supported attorneys with discovery, document review and drafting across many litigation matters early on.
- Organized case files and exhibits and helped prepare for hearings, building litigation skills on the job.
- Learned discovery, drafting and trial preparation on the job across more than two years.
- Gained the experience that led into a litigation-paralegal role on the firm's major cases.
Qualification
BA in Legal Studies, Legal Studies
John Jay College, CUNY
Aug 2012 – May 2016
- Degree in legal studies covering litigation, procedure, legal research and writing, with an internship. The program built the foundation litigation support requires. It led directly into a paralegal career.
Paralegal Certificate (ABA-Approved), Paralegal Studies
New York Paralegal Institute
Aug 2016 – Dec 2016
- ABA-approved paralegal certificate covering litigation procedure, discovery and legal drafting. It built the specialist litigation skills the role requires. It supported confident, professional litigation support.
Certifications
ABA-Approved Paralegal Certificate
New York Paralegal Institute
Dec 2016 – Present
- ABA-approved paralegal certificate covering litigation procedure, discovery and legal drafting to a recognized standard. It built the specialist litigation skills the role requires and grounds confident, professional litigation support.
Discovery System
Discovery & Document System
Jan 2021 – Sep 2021
- Built a discovery and document-management system for the litigation team, organizing huge volumes of evidence with review, indexing and privilege checks, which the team relied on through several major, document-heavy cases.
Highlights
A system the team relied on
- Built a discovery and document system the litigation team relied on through major cases. In litigation, where cases turn on the right document at the right moment, a system that keeps evidence organized is genuinely decisive.
Trusted to run trial prep
- Trusted to run trial preparation, getting attorneys fully ready for the courtroom. Being handed responsibility for trial prep, where mistakes are costly, reflects deep confidence in her thoroughness and judgement.
Languages
- English (US) — Native or Bilingual Proficiency
- Spanish — Professional Working Proficiency
Technical Skills
- Discovery Management
- Document Review
- Pleadings & Drafting
- Trial Preparation
- Exhibit Organization
- Deposition Support
- Case Management
- Legal Research
- E-Discovery Tools
- Court Filing
Personal Skills
- Organization
- Attention to Detail
- Composure
- Diligence
- Discretion
Activities & Interests
- Volleyball
- Gambling
- Play Violin
- Running
- Drinking
Key Takeaways for a Litigation Paralegal Resume
Litigation partners screen for discovery capability and reliability under deadline:
- Name the case types and the courts, since state, federal and arbitration practice differ in rules and rhythm.
- Give discovery volumes, because handling two thousand documents and two million are different jobs.
- Name the e-discovery platforms, as these take real time to learn and employers screen for specific tools.
- Show trial experience, covering exhibits, binders, witness files and whether you attended.
- Evidence deadline control, since a missed filing deadline is the one error this role cannot absorb.
- Include drafting, covering pleadings, discovery responses and subpoenas prepared for attorney review.
Why This Litigation Paralegal Resume Works
This sample reads as litigation support rather than as general paralegal work.
- Case types and courts are named, so a partner can see whether the practice experience transfers.
- Discovery volumes appear, which conveys the scale of document work far better than any description.
- Platforms are named individually, since e-discovery tools take genuine time to learn properly.
- Trial work is described through exhibits and binders rather than claimed as trial experience generally.
- Deadline and calendar control is evidenced, which is the thing a litigation team worries about most.
- A built document system appears, showing improvement to the practice rather than only task completion.
How to Write a Litigation Paralegal Resume
Lead with case types and discovery, then prove nothing gets missed.
Name case types and courts
Commercial, personal injury, employment, products or insurance defence, and whether state, federal or arbitration. Rules and timetables differ, and a partner is hiring somebody who knows their forum.
Give discovery volumes
Documents reviewed, productions managed, custodians handled. Discovery at scale is a different discipline from a small matter, and the figures establish which end of that range you have worked.
Name the platforms
The e-discovery and case management systems you have actually used. These take weeks to learn properly, so a paralegal already fluent in the firm's platform reaches productivity far sooner.
Describe trial work specifically
Exhibit preparation, trial binders, witness files, whether you attended and what you did there. Trial support is the most demanding part of this role and the part most resumes describe least clearly.
Evidence deadline control
Calendaring, filing deadlines, court rules compliance. A missed deadline can end a claim, which makes this the single risk a litigation team most needs to be confident about before hiring.
Show your drafting
Pleadings, discovery responses, subpoenas and correspondence prepared for attorney review. Describing what you drafted, within the limits of your role, evidences substantive rather than clerical work.
Case types, discovery volumes and the systems you run are what litigation partners screen on. You can build a free litigation paralegal resume and show the trial readiness behind the title.
What to Include in a Litigation Paralegal Resume
Beyond the standard sections, litigation teams screen for these:
Case types and courts worked, covering state, federal and arbitration practice.
Discovery volumes in documents reviewed, productions managed and custodians handled.
E-discovery and case management platforms used, named individually.
Trial support covering exhibits, binders, witness files and attendance at trial.
Calendaring and deadline management, including court rules and filing systems used.
Documents drafted for attorney review, covering pleadings, discovery responses and subpoenas.
Extra tips
Write the largest discovery volume you have managed and the platform you managed it in.
It sizes your experience instantly, and most paralegal resumes leave a partner guessing entirely.
Litigation Paralegal Resume Summary Examples
Two summaries at different stages, both discovery led:
Entry-level resume summary example
Litigation paralegal with two years supporting commercial and employment matters in state court, managing discovery on cases of up to around forty thousand documents. Runs document review and production in the firm's e-discovery platform, tracking custodians and privilege so that a production can be defended if it is later challenged. Maintains the litigation calendar across the caseload and has never missed a filing deadline on any matter. Drafts discovery responses and routine pleadings for attorney review. Organises exhibits and prepares trial binders, and coordinates witnesses and logistics during trial weeks. Seeking a position with federal practice and larger matters.
Senior-level resume summary example
Litigation paralegal with eight years supporting trial attorneys at litigation firms, managing discovery across commercial and products matters in state and federal court including productions of several hundred thousand documents. Built a discovery and document system that cut retrieval time during trial preparation substantially and is now used across the practice group. Prepares exhibits, witness files and trial binders, and has attended trial supporting attorneys in the courtroom. Owns the litigation calendar across a caseload and applies state and federal filing rules correctly. Drafts pleadings and discovery responses for attorney review within the paralegal role. Seeking a senior litigation support or case management position.
Litigation Paralegal Work Experience Examples
Three sets covering the specialism, since discovery, trial and case management differ.
Discovery and document management
- Managed discovery across commercial and products matters including productions of several hundred thousand documents, where the organising system determines whether anything can be found later.
- Ran document review and production in the firm's platform, tracking custodians, sources and privilege carefully so that a production could still be defended if it was challenged many months afterward.
- Built a discovery and document system that cut retrieval time during trial preparation, which is the exact point at which a disorganised matter starts becoming extremely expensive very quickly indeed.
- Prepared privilege logs carefully, since an incorrectly withheld document invites a motion, and an incorrectly produced one can waive a privilege that cannot afterward be recovered at all.
- Coordinated with vendors on processing and hosting, because e-discovery costs escalate very quietly and somebody has to be watching what is actually being processed and why it is being kept.
Trial preparation and support
- Prepared exhibits, witness files and trial binders so that an attorney could locate any document within seconds while standing in court rather than searching through a box of paper.
- Attended trial supporting attorneys in the courtroom, which means anticipating what will be needed next rather than waiting to be asked for it in the middle of a live examination in court.
- Assembled deposition materials and summaries, which attorneys rely on heavily and which take real judgement about what matters rather than reproducing a transcript in condensed form.
- Tracked exhibits through trial including what had been admitted and what had not, since losing that thread in the middle of a trial creates problems that are genuinely difficult to unpick afterward.
- Coordinated witnesses and logistics during trial, which is thoroughly unglamorous and is the whole reason a trial team can concentrate on the case rather than on who is arriving when.
Deadlines, drafting and case management
- Owned the litigation calendar across a caseload, since a missed filing deadline can end a claim outright, and it is the one error that this particular role is given no room at all to make.
- Applied court rules on filing and format correctly across state and federal practice, where the requirements differ in detail and a rejected filing wastes time that nobody on the matter has budgeted for.
- Drafted pleadings, discovery responses and subpoenas for attorney review, working carefully within the paralegal role rather than offering legal advice, which is a professional boundary taken seriously.
- Managed client communication on logistics and scheduling, which keeps attorney time on the matter itself and gives the client somebody reachable who actually knows where things stand.
- Maintained case files to a standard a colleague could pick up, because litigation runs for years and the person who opened a matter is frequently not the one who takes it to trial.
Top Litigation Paralegal Skills
What litigation teams screen for:
Hard skills
- Discovery Management
- Document Review
- E-Discovery Platforms
- Privilege Log Preparation
- Production Management
- Trial Exhibit Preparation
- Trial Binders & Witness Files
- Deposition Summaries
- Court Filing & E-Filing
- Litigation Calendaring
- Court Rules Compliance
- Pleading Drafting
- Discovery Response Drafting
- Subpoena Preparation
- Case Management Systems
- Legal Research
- Records Requests
- Vendor Coordination
Soft skills:
- Deadline Discipline
- Anticipation
- Accuracy Under Pressure
- Working With Attorneys
Certifications for a Litigation Paralegal
Certification helps, though discovery platform fluency frequently matters more:
-
Paralegal certification
— National paralegal associations Several bodies offer recognised paralegal credentials. They matter most when moving between firms or entering the field, and rather less once you have a litigation track record behind you.
-
E-discovery platform certification
— Platform vendors Vendor certification on the major review platforms is directly valuable here, since these tools take weeks to learn and firms screen for the specific one they run.
-
Paralegal studies qualification
— Accredited programme An accredited paralegal programme or degree is the usual entry route and is frequently stated as a requirement. Name the programme and whether it was approved by a recognised body.
-
Notary commission
— State authority Useful in a litigation practice for verifications and affidavits, and inexpensive to obtain. It is a small practical advantage that distinguishes otherwise similar applications at hiring.
Litigation Paralegal Salary
Firm size, forum and discovery scale drive pay above general paralegal rates:
USD 60,000 – USD 95,000 · Litigation paralegal · US
The O*NET median across paralegals and legal assistants is around $62,890. Litigation specialists at larger firms sit well above that figure.
USD 90,000 – USD 140,000 · Senior litigation paralegal or case manager · US
Large firm practice, complex multi district litigation and case management responsibility pay substantially more, particularly in major legal markets.
Common Litigation Paralegal Resume Mistakes
These read as general paralegal work rather than litigation support:
- Writing a general paralegal resume, when litigation is a specialism with its own tools and rhythm.
- Omitting discovery volumes, since document counts establish which end of the range you have worked.
- Leaving platforms unnamed, when e-discovery tools take weeks to learn and firms screen for theirs.
- Claiming trial experience vaguely, rather than describing exhibits, binders and what you did in court.
- Saying nothing about deadlines, which is the single risk a litigation team most needs confidence about.
- Hiding drafting work, when pleadings and discovery responses evidence substantive rather than clerical work.
Litigation Paralegal Resume FAQs
The questions litigation paralegals most often search, answered directly:
Litigation is a specialism built on discovery at volume, court deadlines and trial preparation. The tools, the rules and the pace differ enough that a general paralegal resume reads as a poor fit.
Because managing forty thousand documents and four hundred thousand are genuinely different disciplines. The number tells a partner immediately what scale of matter you are used to organising.
Always. These tools take weeks to learn properly, and a paralegal already fluent in the platform a firm runs is productive almost immediately rather than after a month of training.
Specifically. Exhibits prepared, binders built, witness files assembled, and whether you sat in the courtroom. Trial support is demanding work and vague claims about it are easy to see through.
A missed deadline, which can end a claim. Evidence that you own a litigation calendar reliably speaks directly to the thing a litigation team worries about most when hiring somebody new.
It helps on entry and when moving firms, but discovery platform fluency and a litigation track record carry more weight once you have them. Include both rather than relying on either alone.
Get Started With Our
Free Resume Creator today!
Free sign-up. No credit card required.
