# Paralegals and Legal Assistants

> Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.

- **SOC code:** 23-2011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-23-2011-00
- **Also known as:** Legal Assistant, Legal Clerk, Paralegal, Paralegal Specialist, Immigration Paralegal, Law Associate, Legal Analyst, Legal Processing Assistant
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
- Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
- Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases.
- Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits.
- Meet with clients and other professionals to discuss details of cases.
- Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents.
- File pleadings with court clerks.
- Direct and coordinate law office activity, including delivery of subpoenas.
- Call upon witnesses to testify at hearings.
- Arbitrate disputes between parties and assist in the real estate closing process, such as by reviewing title searches.
- Appraise and inventory real and personal property for estate planning.
- Keep and monitor legal volumes to ensure that the law library is up-to-date.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Manage attorneys' calendars and schedule meetings.
- Request, review, and summarize relevant records for the cases.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Law and Government _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- Google Docs _(hot technology)_
- Google Workspace software _(hot technology)_
- Intuit QuickBooks _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Project _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft SharePoint _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 56th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 86th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 71st percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 13th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 86th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 0.2% growth (About average); 39.3k annual openings; 376.2k → 376.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $61,010; 367,220 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 40% automation, 52% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Prepare legal documents, including briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements. _(4.7% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents. _(0.8% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system. _(0.8% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me prepare legal documents, including briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
- Help me gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents.
- Help me prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-23-2011-00_