From published hiring research · Updated 2026-07-31
Top skills for a paralegal resume (2026)
Not a generic listicle: these are the skills employers request most in paralegal job postings, ranked by published hiring research (source cited below). Legal research, Legal drafting and writing, Communication lead the field — list the ones you genuinely have, and prove the top two or three with a measurable bullet.
Legal research70%
Legal drafting and writing60%
CommunicationFrequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
Litigation supportFrequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
Case managementFrequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
e-Discovery (e.g. Relativity)Frequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
Legal technologyFrequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
Attention to detailFrequently requested — no per-skill percentage published
Source: Research.com analysis of legal-studies job postings (2026); NALA hiring-manager survey (2023); Rasmussen University analysis of 80,000+ paralegal postings (2024).
How to put these skills on your resume
List them twice.A Skills section gives the ATS an exact keyword match; an experience bullet proves it. “Legal research” in a bullet with a number beats “Legal research” in a comma list.
Mirror the job description’s wording. If the posting says a skill by a specific name, use that exact name — ATS keyword matching is literal.
Don’t pad. 8–15 genuinely-held skills, grouped. Every listed skill is an interview question waiting to happen.
Quantify the proof.The strongest pattern is skill + scope + outcome: what you used, on what, and what changed (%, $, time, scale).
Check your resume against these skills
Upload your resume and Resunova scores it against a real job description — including which of these skills it finds, which are missing, and a rewrite for each weak bullet. Free.