A litigation paralegal is a paralegal whose work sits on the court-facing items of the paralegal duty list the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes: filing with courts, gathering and organizing documents, scheduling depositions, helping at trial with exhibits and notes.
Those duties, arranged around a filed case, are the specialty's rhythm — pleadings, discovery, depositions, trial.
This guide walks the case in order, then covers settings, entry routes and pay.
What is a litigation paralegal?
A litigation paralegal is a paralegal who works on litigated matters — disputes that proceed through the courts.
The foundation is the role itself: under the American Bar Association's definition, adopted by its House of Delegates at the February 2020 Midyear Meeting, a paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.
A litigation paralegal applies that same delegation model to disputes — the work is substantive, and the supervising lawyer remains responsible for it.
What makes the role "litigation" is the kind of matters it supports, and the case lifecycle sets the rhythm: pleadings, discovery, depositions, trial.
One honest caveat up front — the duty list behind this guide is BLS's, for paralegals and legal assistants as one occupation; our sources did not capture a duty list for the litigation specialty separately, and the actual mix varies from office to office.
For any specific job, the posting's own duty list is the more precise source than any general guide.
Where the role sits: litigation work attaches to courts, and the occupation's employment base is concentrated in law firms — in 2025, 75% of paralegal and legal assistant jobs were in legal services, the BLS industry category that covers law firms, with local government at 5%, the federal government at 4%, state government at 3% and finance and insurance at 3%.
If you are still building the full picture of the occupation — the formal definition, the ethics rules, the employer types — start with our paralegal career guide, then come back here for the specialty.
Pleadings and motions
A case opens with pleadings — the filings that frame the dispute — and moves through motions, which ask the court to rule on something while the case is pending.
This is the phase where the case's paper trail begins, and it is where filing work lives.
The paralegal's hands-on role in this phase is on BLS's published duty list: filing documents with courts and agencies, and drafting correspondence and documents.
On a litigated matter those filings are court paperwork running on the case's clock — filing deadlines and hearing dates — rather than routine correspondence.
Federal court records run through PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records service.
Its fee schedule is worth knowing before you touch it: $0.10 per page for federal court records, capped at $3 per document — a cap that does not apply to search results, non-case reports or transcripts — and $2.40 per audio file.
Fees are waived for a user who accrues $30 or less in a quarter.
Discovery and document production
Discovery is the phase where each side obtains the information held by the other, so the case can be argued on evidence rather than surprise.
The document-facing duties on BLS's published list are the ones this phase draws on: investigating case facts; researching laws and regulations; gathering and organizing documents; and scheduling interviews, meetings and depositions.
How much of that list one paralegal owns is a firm-size question as much as a specialty one.
BLS notes that in small firms, paralegals may work on all aspects of a case, while in larger firms they may work on one phase.
The same title can mean all aspects of a case at a small firm, or a single phase at a larger one.
Depositions and trial prep
A deposition is sworn testimony taken before trial, outside the courtroom, and trial preparation is everything the case needs in place for the courtroom.
BLS's own example of large-firm phase specialization sits exactly here: it notes that in larger firms, paralegals may work on one phase, such as preparing witnesses for deposition or trial.
When the case reaches court, BLS's duty list includes helping at trial with exhibits and notes — the item on the list that takes place in the courtroom.
Getting there is part of the job's texture too: BLS notes that occasional travel to depositions or trials may be required.
The working conditions have a shape worth knowing before you choose the specialty.
BLS says most paralegals work full time, and that the work can be stressful because it is fast paced, with multiple projects under tight deadlines.
Litigated matters concentrate that pressure around the phases above — filing deadlines, discovery cutoffs, deposition dates and trial dates are the case's clock.
Litigation vs corporate paralegal work
Both roles draw on the same underlying duty list — BLS's list for paralegals and legal assistants includes researching, gathering and organizing documents, and drafting correspondence and documents such as contracts.
What changes is what the documents serve: in litigation, a filed case — court filings, discovery, deposition and trial dates set the schedule; in corporate or transactional work, a transaction or business matter instead.
One boundary this guide will not cross: our sources captured BLS's duty list for paralegals as a single occupation, and did not capture a separate duty list for corporate paralegals, so this page will not invent one.
The reliable comparison point for any two openings is the employer's own posting.
Judge the posting, not the title
How do you become a litigation paralegal?
The education base is the occupation's, not the specialty's.
BLS lists the typical entry-level education for paralegals and legal assistants as an associate's degree, and around that typical path the employer range is wide: BLS reports that some employers prefer a bachelor's degree, that others consider candidates with a high school diploma and experience, and that some hire people with no legal education and train them on the job.
Certification is a separate question from education.
BLS states that paralegal certification is not required, but that some employers prefer or require it — and that certification typically means passing an exam plus ongoing continuing education.
Software certifications exist for specific platforms, and they are product credentials rather than industry standards.
Clio Academy offers two self-paced certifications — Clio Certified Administrator, built on five learning paths plus an open-book exam, and Clio Work Certified Expert; the learning paths are open to anyone, but the Credly badge is limited to Clio customers, partners and Academic Access Program members.
Filevine University is that vendor's certification program for users of its platform, with role-based levels of expertise.
Clio's Legal AI Fundamentals Certification is free and self-paced, aimed at attorneys and legal staff, covering AI basics, prompting, AI security risks and choosing AI tools.
Our research does not support ranking legal software or calling any tool the market default, so treat each as one option among many.
As for timing: the sources behind this guide describe the education employers look for, not how long programs take to complete.
Ask the programs on your shortlist directly for their current length, cost and admission requirements.
How much do litigation paralegals make?
The pay data below is BLS's, for paralegals and legal assistants as one occupation (SOC 23-2011) — that combined category, not a litigation-specific number.
The median annual wage was $62,890 in May 2025 — $30.24 per hour.
The spread around that midpoint is wide: in May 2025, the lowest 10 percent earned less than $44,740 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $101,500.
Industry moves the number.
BLS's median annual wages for paralegals and legal assistants by industry, May 2025:
| Industry | Median annual wage, May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Federal government | $81,470 |
| Finance and insurance | $80,120 |
| Local government | $63,370 |
| Legal services (law firms) | $61,770 |
| State government | $59,320 |
Read the table alongside where the jobs are: legal services is where 75% of paralegal and legal assistant jobs were in 2025, and it pays below the occupation median, while the federal government and finance and insurance pay the most among the industries BLS lists.
What these numbers are — and are not
Find litigation paralegal jobs
LawFirmHires is a job board built only for legal jobs — the attorneys, paralegals and legal staff who work in them, and the firms hiring them.
When you are ready to look, browse current litigation paralegal jobs at law firms, and check back as firms post new openings.
Career information, not legal advice. Pay figures are BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook data for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011), May 2025 wages; the definition given reflects the ABA's published definition of a paralegal. Software and fee details reflect the vendors' and PACER's own pages as of October 2026 — confirm anything you rely on with the body or vendor named.