Paralegal resume keywords
Most paralegal applications are screened by software before a person reads them: the ATS ranks resumes by how many of the posting's words they contain. The lists below are the terms that show up most in paralegal job ads. Use the ones that are true for you, with the same spelling the ad uses.
Hard skills and ATS keywords
- Legal research (Westlaw)
- E-discovery (Relativity)
- Document review
- Case management
- Drafting pleadings
- Court filings
- Deposition preparation
- Confidentiality
- Legal research
- Document drafting
- E-discovery
- Case management
- Westlaw
- LexisNexis
- Litigation support
- Court filings
- Deposition preparation
- Contract review
Soft skills recruiters look for
- Attention to detail
- Discretion
- Deadline management
- Organisation
- Communication
Soft skills only count when a bullet proves them. "Team player" is ignored; "Managed discovery on 14 cases, including one with over 2 million documents." shows it.
Action verbs to start your bullets
- Drafted
- Researched
- Prepared
- Filed
- Managed
- Organised
- Reviewed
- Supported
How to use these keywords
- Mirror the job ad: if it says "Legal research", do not write a synonym.
- Put the top 6–8 in a skills section and repeat the key ones inside experience bullets with a number.
- Never list a skill you cannot talk about in an interview.
- Keep the file text-based (no skills inside images or tables), or the ATS cannot read it.
Which ones is your resume missing?
Every posting is different. Paste your resume and the job ad — free ATS Match Score Score your resume free (0-100)
No signup. It lists the keywords from the ad that your resume does not contain.
Need the resume itself? See the paralegal resume example and generate one free from rough notes.