paralegal

adjective

para·​le·​gal ˌper-ə-ˈlē-gəl How to pronounce paralegal (audio)
ˌpa-rə-
: of, relating to, or being a paraprofessional who assists a lawyer
paralegal noun

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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

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In her fight with Highmark, Sutton-Schulman leaned on her paralegal skills, beginning with reading the company’s coverage booklet from start to finish. 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

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of paralegal was in 1966

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Cite this Entry

“Paralegal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paralegal. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Legal Definition

paralegal

adjective
para·​le·​gal ˌpar-ə-ˈlē-gəl How to pronounce paralegal (audio)
: of, relating to, or being a paraprofessional who assists a lawyer compare clerk sense 2b
paralegal noun

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