paralegal
adjective
para·le·gal
ˌper-ə-ˈlē-gəl 
ˌpa-rə-
: of, relating to, or being a paraprofessional who assists a lawyer
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Much of the work in a law office can be done by paralegal assistants, also called legal aides or simply paralegals, who work alongside licensed lawyers. Often a paralegal is trained in a narrow field and then entrusted with it. In this respect, paralegals are similar to paraprofessionals in other fields, such as engineering. Paraprofessionals used to be trained in the office itself, but today it's common to study for a paraprofessional certificate or degree at a community college or university.
Examples of paralegal in a Sentence
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In her fight with Highmark, Sutton-Schulman leaned on her paralegal skills, beginning with reading the company’s coverage booklet from start to finish.
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Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
The firing came after Baxter — a paralegal specialist in the DOJ’s Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division — flipped off a National Guard member on her way to work in Washington, D.C., per the outlet.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 30 Aug. 2025
But when Bruiser skips town, Rudy is left alone with paralegal Deck (Danny DeVito) to represent a family whose son died after his insurance company denied coverage for a bone-marrow transplant.
—Linda Holmes, NPR, 15 Aug. 2025
Rudy flames out on his first day, though, and ends up working for a shady lawyer named Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) and her gleefully immoral paralegal Deck (P.J. Byrne).
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2025
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Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
The firing came after Baxter — a paralegal specialist in the DOJ’s Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division — flipped off a National Guard member on her way to work in Washington, D.C., per the outlet.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 30 Aug. 2025
But when Bruiser skips town, Rudy is left alone with paralegal Deck (Danny DeVito) to represent a family whose son died after his insurance company denied coverage for a bone-marrow transplant.
—Linda Holmes, NPR, 15 Aug. 2025
Rudy flames out on his first day, though, and ends up working for a shady lawyer named Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) and her gleefully immoral paralegal Deck (P.J. Byrne).
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paralegal
Cite this Entry
“Paralegal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paralegal. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
paralegal
adjective
para·le·gal
ˌpar-ə-ˈlē-gəl
: of, relating to, or being a paraprofessional who assists a lawyer compare clerk sense 2b
paralegal
noun
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