Who hasn’t met a paralegal who has a better command of the details of a case than her supervising attorney does? That’s what paralegals do—deal with the particulars, the filing, the forms, the back-and-forth of paperwork and multiple drafts and phone calls and emails and supporting documentation so the lawyer can focus on the grand strategy, the big-picture thought processes that will get her and her client from soul-sucking legal turmoil to eventual appeasement.


Competent paralegals are able to handle the minutiae of shepherding any legal problem from first client contact to rightful solution—all under the watchful gaze of their supervising attorney, of course. Shouldn’t they be more appreciated and thanked?

Especially in this moment of budget-focused clients, lawyers cannot afford to mismanage their paralegals. A legal assistant’s job often entails repetitive, less-than-glamorous but vitally important work on any client matter—all performed under time pressure, sometimes for a surly supervisor, while juggling multiple projects for other clients, while handling assignments from other just-as-intense lawyers on the team. A paralegal needs to be diplomatic, focused, thorough, efficient. That’s a tall order on any given day. Truthfully, we can’t really do enough to thank our paralegals.

Here are some suggestions for fostering the engagement of your paralegal team:

Provide precise instructions. Don’t leave your legal assistant to guess what you want.

As time-pressed as you might be, you’re likely to generate a better result if you take that five minutes to provide a logical framework for the task you’re asking your paralegal to undertake. Provide her with some of the back story: How does the piece that she is performing fit into the whole? How will the result she achieves influence later developments in the matter? What might different outcomes be, and what’s the optimal one?

Seek input on business operations. Ask a paralegal’s perspective on how well the law office is actually functioning—and be prepared to institute reforms based on her suggestions. The paralegal may well know whether the filing system is strained, whether client intake forms could be improved, and whether other office processes could be streamlined.

Mentor your paralegal. Find out what his career aspirations are, whether he would like to take on more responsibility within the law office, how he would like his knowledge of law and process to expand. Help the paralegal grow in his job. Sure, a good paralegal may want to go to law school or work for a larger organization one day. If the paralegal is talented, that day may arrive sooner than you’d like. Give the paralegal a reason to stay motivated in this job with your firm.

Respect the paralegal’s job and time. If a project you labeled ‘rush’ has been sitting on your desk for 13 days after the paralegal stayed late to complete it, explain why. Even better, look at it earlier.

Ask; don’t roar. In the heat of litigation or any pressing client matter, the intensity required to orchestrate teamwork on a project can yield a certain brusqueness. Yes, it’s easy to bark orders, and really, it’s tempting to just say, “do the job, do it well, and get it done.” Try to be more soothing—or at least less crazed.

Provide positive feedback. Find something good to say about any given accomplishment. Even where a draft document is poorly constructed, gear comments toward generating an enhanced version. Don’t just say something’s wrong; provide a bit of guidance. Be tactful in reacting. Phrases like “have you considered this?” or “have you given any thought to that?” will help the paralegal feel that her contributions are appreciated while inspiring her to do more.

Educate your paralegal. If the paralegal is working in a new area of the law, take a few minutes to brief her generally on the subject. What’s the regulatory agency with oversight of the matter? What’s the state of the law? What is the history of this particular sort of legal problem?

Reward a high-performing paralegal. Often, the reward for a job well done is more work of the same kind. Pay attention to paralegal workload, and don’t overload the superstars. Reward a strong performer by cutting her some slack when business is slower or by taking her to lunch, springing for coffee, or letting her leave early one afternoon. Of course, raises also are appreciated.

Remember that your paralegal is not your personal assistant. Sure, it’s tempting to ask anyone who’s on your payroll to go pick up your dry cleaning, your kid, your car from the shop. If you need a personal assistant, hire one. A paralegal did not sign on to do your personal errands.

And always, always, say ‘thanks.’ While we might not publicly concede that multitasking, multiple drafting, well-organized, detail-oriented, sometimes insufficiently praised paralegals are the lifeblood of many a law office, we know in our hearts—and more importantly, our brains—that they are. As anyone who has worked with a truly outstanding paralegal knows, these vital legal team members are not expendable, replaceable commodities. Let them know how very vital to the firm’s success they are.