Paralegal CV Example & Template
A complete litigation paralegal CV covering disclosure, bundling and case management, followed by what firms shortlisting for paralegal roles check first across litigation, conveyancing and corporate practice. Copy the structure, swap in your own matters and numbers, and name your systems the way the job advert names them.
Last reviewed September 2026
Example Paralegal CV
Megan Ashworth
Litigation Paralegal — Commercial Disputes and Disclosure
Manchester, UK
Profile
Paralegal with six years' experience, the last three in litigation, supporting partners and associates on commercial disputes, from pre-action correspondence through to trial bundles. I run disclosure exercises in Relativity, draft witness statement exhibits, and keep case management systems current so fee-earners always have an accurate view of deadlines. Currently completing the SQE route to qualify as a solicitor.
Experience
Litigation Paralegal
Mar 2023 – Present
Thornfield & Barrow LLP · Manchester
- Manage disclosure for four concurrent commercial litigation matters in Relativity, coding over 30,000 documents and cutting fee-earner review time by a third.
- Prepare trial and hearing bundles for the High Court and County Court, indexing and paginating up to 15 lever-arch files per matter without a late resubmission.
- Draft witness statement exhibits, chronologies and case summaries that supervising solicitors file with minimal amendment.
- Track limitation dates and court deadlines for a caseload of 25+ files in the firm's case management system, flagging conflicts before they reach a fee-earner.
- Liaise directly with counsel's clerks to list conferences and hearings, and take attendance notes at client meetings for partner review.
Paralegal, Conveyancing and Corporate
Aug 2020 – Feb 2023
Oakwell Solicitors · Leeds
- Prepared completion statements and redemption figures for 150+ residential conveyancing transactions a year, keeping average completion delays under two days.
- Carried out Companies House filings for corporate clients, including confirmation statements and changes of director, with a zero rejection rate over two years.
- Drafted and submitted Land Registry applications, including AP1 and TR1 forms, and dealt with requisitions raised on title.
- Onboarded new conveyancing clients through anti-money laundering checks and source-of-funds queries, escalating anomalies to the compliance officer.
Education
CILEX Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice
2021 – 2023 (part-time)
CILEX Law School (distance learning)
BA (Hons) History, 2:1
2016 – 2019
University of Leeds
Skills
Relativity e-disclosure · Case management systems (Proclaim, LEAP) · Trial and hearing bundles · Companies House filings · Land Registry applications · Completion statements · Legal research (Westlaw, LexisNexis) · Anti-money laundering checks · Witness statement drafting · Civil Procedure Rules · Client care and attendance notes · Document review and coding
Professional development
- SQE1 examination booked, January 2027
- Student member, National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP)
Why this Paralegal CV works: what shortlisters check first
The practice area named on page one
Litigation, conveyancing, corporate, family and private client paralegal work barely overlap. A firm shortlisting for a commercial litigation paralegal wants disclosure, bundling and court deadlines on the first page, not a generic legal support summary. Match your headline and profile to the practice area in the job advert before you send anything.
Case management and disclosure platforms named exactly
Write Proclaim, LEAP, Relativity, Everlaw or Clio the way the advert writes them, alongside Westlaw and LexisNexis for research. Firms use these names as scan terms in both a human read and an applicant tracking system, and a phrase like legal software on its own tells a shortlister nothing about what you can actually do on day one.
Evidence of volume and accuracy
Paralegal work is judged on throughput without errors: how many files you ran at once, how many documents you coded, how many completions you closed in a year, how many bundles went to court without amendment. Give a real number for at least half your bullets, because a firm reading fifty applications trusts a number faster than an adjective.
Where you are on the qualification route
State plainly whether you are CILEX-qualified, on the CILEX route, sitting SQE1 or SQE2, or not currently studying towards qualification. Firms that fund study leave or sponsor SQE candidates want to know this early, and it also tells a litigation or corporate team how much independent drafting they can hand you.
Confidentiality and conduct instincts
Paralegals see client-confidential material from day one, so a CV that mentions conflict checks, AML procedures or handling privileged documents signals you already understand the professional conduct rules a firm would otherwise have to teach you from scratch.
Key skills recruiters look for
How to write each section of a Paralegal CV
Profile
Three sentences: your practice area, the systems you run, and where you are on the SQE or CILEX route. Name the practice area exactly as the firm's website names its department, not as legal services.
Experience
Lead with disclosure, drafting or filing volumes and end each bullet with the outcome: no late bundle, zero rejected filings, reduced review time. Cut routine photocopying or diary management from an experienced paralegal CV unless it is your first legal role.
Skills
Group by system, by drafting task and by research tool. List the case management system and the disclosure platform separately, since a firm may run one for corporate work and another for litigation.
Education and qualifications
Put your CILEX level or SQE stage above your degree once you have three or more years' paralegal experience; a fee-earner track record now matters more than the degree that got you into the role.
Covering letter
Many firms still read a covering letter before the CV. Use it to say which practice area you want and why, since paralegal CVs otherwise look interchangeable at a glance.
More example bullet points
Strong Paralegal CVs lead with measurable impact. Here are examples of the kind of bullets that make recruiters stop scrolling:
Managed case files for 50+ active matters across commercial litigation and employment law practices
Drafted and reviewed 200+ contracts per year including NDAs, service agreements, and employment contracts
Coordinated e-discovery process for complex litigation, organizing and reviewing 50,000+ documents within tight deadline
Common Paralegal CV mistakes
- Writing legal software instead of naming the case management or disclosure system.
- Sending the same CV to a litigation team and a conveyancing team with no change to the headline or profile.
- Leaving out where you are on the SQE or CILEX route, so a firm cannot tell if you need study leave.
- Listing duties like filing and photocopying without a single number attached.
- Using a template with tables or columns that an applicant tracking system reads out of order.
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How to tailor your Paralegal CV for each application
Every Paralegal job posting is different. The skills they prioritize, the seniority they expect, the setting — all of it shapes what your CV should emphasize. A CV that gets an interview at one employer can miss at another, even for the same job title.
The fastest way to tailor your CV is to paste the job description into NextCV. The AI reads the posting, maps it to your experience, and rewrites your bullets to match what the employer is scanning for. 1 free preview, no signup required — you only pay when you want a clean PDF download. Sign up free for 3 more.
Paralegal CV FAQ
Do you need a law degree to work as a paralegal in the UK?
No. Many paralegals have a non-law degree and train on the job, and a CILEX qualification helps at application stage. To qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales through the SQE you need a degree in any subject or an equivalent qualification, passes in SQE1 and SQE2, and two years of qualifying work experience. Paralegal work can count towards that experience if a solicitor confirms it.
What is the difference between a paralegal and a legal secretary?
A legal secretary manages correspondence, diaries and formatting for a fee-earner. A paralegal carries out substantive legal work such as drafting, research, disclosure and client contact, usually under a solicitor's supervision, and the two CVs should read differently even where the roles overlap in a small firm.
How long should a paralegal CV be?
One to two pages in the UK. Keep the most recent and most relevant role on the first page, and cut earlier junior roles to one line each once you have two or more years of paralegal experience to show.
Should a US paralegal resume mention NALA certification?
Yes, if you hold the NALA Certified Paralegal credential or a similar state or national certification, put it in your name line or the top of the resume, since many US employers treat it as a genuine screening filter in a way UK firms do not treat any single paralegal qualification.
What should go in a paralegal CV skills section?
Name the case management system, the disclosure platform, the research databases and the specific drafting or filing tasks you do, such as Land Registry applications or Companies House filings. Leave generic phrases like attention to detail out of the list and prove them instead in your experience bullets.