What Are the Duties of a Litigation Paralegal?

by Louis Kroeck, Demand Media Google

Paralegals perform functions similar to a lawyer, but they are not permitted to actually practice law. Litigation paralegals assist lawyers who specialize in court appearances. The general duties of a litigation paralegal include conducting client interviews, performing legal research, organizing documents and assisting in document production for trial, assisting with pleadings and court filings and preparing for trial.


Litigation is the process of taking a case to court. Some lawyers do not engage in trial practice, for example, lawyers who specialize in document preparation, estates and corporate law. A litigation paralegal is familiar with the court process, the rules of civil procedure and the nuances of filing documents with the court.

Legal and Factual Research

One of the main job duties for litigation paralegals is legal and factual research. Factual research often includes looking up background information on clients and opposing parties, researching and clarifying the facts of the case and assisting in locating key documents related to the case. Legal research includes researching previous court decisions and statutory law in order to determine how the law applies to the particular facts of the case. Most paralegals use services such as LexisNexis or Westlaw to perform legal research.

Drafting Documents

Although a licensed lawyer must sign any document that is filed before the court, litigation paralegals often draft these documents. Examples of some of the documents that litigation paralegals might draft include complaints, answers, motions before the court and legal response briefs. In addition to drafting these documents, litigation paralegals may be responsible for submitting documents to the court, distributing copies to other parties and indexing documents in the case file.


Discovery is the process of requesting documents from the other party and providing the documents that are requested. Because the discovery process is a major portion of litigation, litigation paralegals spend a large amount of their time engaging in discovery processes. Common discovery tasks for litigation paralegals may include drafting discovery requests, drafting discovery responses, speaking with the client to determine what documents are available and creating a system for categorizing and organizing all vital case documents.

Trial Support

Prior to trial litigation, paralegals will assist their employer by helping with depositions and preparing for all pre-trial disclosures. Litigation paralegals also engage in a variety of support functions during trial such as attending trial, preparing trial exhibits and binders, managing trial documents, assisting witnesses, helping with jury selection, interacting with clients and taking notes during trial.

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