What keywords do law firm ATS scan for in paralegal resumes?

Practice-area terms (litigation support, discovery, due diligence), named tools (Relativity, Westlaw, Clio), credential terms (certified paralegal, ABA-approved), and task terms from the posting like docketing or cite-checking.

Do I need a paralegal certificate on my resume?

If you have one, list it with the program's ABA status and year; many postings hard-require it. If you qualified through experience instead, make years and practice areas unmistakable.

How long should a paralegal resume be?

One page under 10 years of experience, two pages beyond that or for careers spanning multiple practice areas.

How do I show e-discovery experience convincingly?

Name the platform, the matter scale (document counts), and your specific role: collections, processing, review management, productions. One quantified bullet beats a skills-list mention.

Paralegal resume example

What makes it work

A strong paralegal resume names its practice areas in the headline (litigation, corporate, real estate, family), quantifies caseload and filing volume, and lists the exact software firms screen for: Westlaw, LexisNexis, Relativity, Clio. Firms and legal departments increasingly filter applications through ATS, so mirror the posting's practice-area and tooling terms precisely.

Dana Okafor

Litigation Paralegal | Certified | E-Discovery | 6 Years

Dallas, TX • (555) 555-0100 • name@email.com • linkedin.com/in/example

Summary

Certified litigation paralegal with 6 years supporting commercial and employment litigation at AmLaw 200 firms. Manages 30-40 active matters through discovery, motion practice, and trial; cut document review turnaround 35% by building Relativity workflows. Notary public; NALA Certified Paralegal.

Experience

Litigation Paralegal | Whitfield & Marsh LLP | Sep 2021 - Present

•Support 4 attorneys across 30-40 active commercial litigation matters from complaint through trial.
•Manage e-discovery in Relativity across matters totaling 2M+ documents; built review batching workflow that cut first-pass review time 35%.
•Draft discovery requests and responses, deposition notices, subpoenas, and privilege logs; maintain zero missed-deadline record across 5 years of docketing.
•Coordinate trial logistics for 6 trials, including exhibit management of 400+ exhibits in Trial Director.
•Cite-check and bluebook briefs filed in Texas state and federal courts.

Paralegal | Ramirez Employment Law Group | Jul 2019 - Aug 2021

•Handled intake through settlement for 25-30 plaintiff-side employment matters (FLSA, Title VII, FMLA).
•Drafted EEOC charges, demand letters, and settlement agreements for attorney review.
•Maintained calendars and court deadlines across two state and three federal jurisdictions in Clio.

Education

B.A. Political Science, University of Texas at Arlington, 2019

Paralegal Certificate (ABA-approved program), 2019

Skills

Civil litigation support • E-discovery (Relativity, Everlaw) • Legal research (Westlaw, LexisNexis) • Document review • Discovery drafting • Docketing and deadline management • Trial preparation • Bluebook citation • Clio • Adobe Acrobat Pro

Certifications

• NALA Certified Paralegal (CP), 2020

• Texas Notary Public (exp. 2027)

• Relativity Certified User

Keywords ATS look for in a paralegal resume

These terms appear across paralegalpostings and are what screening software ranks on. Use the ones that are true of you, in the posting's exact wording.

paralegal
litigation support
e-discovery
Relativity
Westlaw
LexisNexis
document review
discovery
docketing
trial preparation
legal research
pleadings
subpoena
privilege log
case management
Clio
certified paralegal
bluebook

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Common paralegal resume mistakes

No practice area in the headline

Litigation, corporate, IP, and family paralegal roles screen on different vocabularies. Name yours immediately; a generic 'Paralegal' headline ranks below specialized ones.

Software listed generically

'Legal software' matches nothing. Firms filter on Relativity, Westlaw, LexisNexis, Clio, and iManage by name; list what you have actually used.

Missing volume numbers

Caseload, document counts, and deadline records are the paralegal equivalents of sales numbers. '30-40 active matters' and '2M+ documents' establish scope instantly.

Omitting the certificate details

Many postings require an ABA-approved certificate or NALA/NFPA certification as a hard filter. Spell out the credential exactly as the posting does.

Start from an ATS-safe template

The Executive template suits most paralegal applications: Senior managers, directors, and executives with 10+ years and leadership scope.

Download Executive (DOCX)See all templates

Frequently asked questions

What keywords do law firm ATS scan for in paralegal resumes?: Practice-area terms (litigation support, discovery, due diligence), named tools (Relativity, Westlaw, Clio), credential terms (certified paralegal, ABA-approved), and task terms from the posting like docketing or cite-checking.
Do I need a paralegal certificate on my resume?: If you have one, list it with the program's ABA status and year; many postings hard-require it. If you qualified through experience instead, make years and practice areas unmistakable.
How long should a paralegal resume be?: One page under 10 years of experience, two pages beyond that or for careers spanning multiple practice areas.
How do I show e-discovery experience convincingly?: Name the platform, the matter scale (document counts), and your specific role: collections, processing, review management, productions. One quantified bullet beats a skills-list mention.