How to hire a corporate paralegal

How to hire a corporate paralegal, step by step

Here's a step-by-step corporate paralegal hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a corporate paralegal job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new corporate paralegal
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a corporate paralegal do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a corporate paralegal, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a corporate paralegal to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a corporate paralegal that fits the bill.

   This list presents corporate paralegal salaries for various positions.

   Type of Corporate Paralegal	Description	Hourly rate
   Corporate Paralegal	Paralegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.	$20-50
   Legal Administrator	The job of legal administrative assistants is to provide support to lawyers and paralegals. They typically perform legal research, manage schedules, and draft legal-related documents... Show more	$15-31
   Law Clerk	Law clerks are employees in a legal firm who handle clerical tasks for the office. They handle the office's official phone lines, answering incoming calls, and making outgoing calls... Show more	$12-54

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Corporate Governance
   • Legal Research
   • Mergers
   • Securities
   • Excellent Organizational
   • UCC
   • Proxy
   • Subpoenas
   • Corporate Compliance
   • Non-Disclosure Agreements
   • Corporate Minute Books
   • Sky
   • Entity Formation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a team of five to prepare over 100 UCC-1 forms to meet a 48 hour deadline.
   • Achieve sole responsibility for administration of all estates and guardianships.
   • Prepare documents such as estoppel certificates, subordination agreements and commencement agreements.
   • Collect and prepare information and draft answers to department litigation including informational statements, pleadings, and affidavits.
   • Involve in all aspects of litigation support including legal research, factual investigations, document review/management, and trial preparation.
   • Analyze and review of new and existing commercial lease agreements, estoppel certificates, subordination and non-disturbance agreements and lease amendments.

   More corporate paralegal duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the corporate paralegal job description is a good way to get more applicants. A corporate paralegal salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a corporate paralegal in North Carolina may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level corporate paralegal. Additionally, a corporate paralegal with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average corporate paralegal salary

   $67,515yearly

   $32.46 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level corporate paralegal salary

   $42,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average corporate paralegal salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$92,080	$44
   2	Washington	$83,322	$40
   3	Oregon	$79,736	$38
   4	District of Columbia	$77,211	$37
   5	New Jersey	$77,203	$37
   6	New York	$73,133	$35
   7	Illinois	$71,484	$34
   8	Pennsylvania	$70,756	$34
   9	Massachusetts	$69,403	$33
   10	Utah	$69,342	$33
   11	Connecticut	$68,696	$33
   12	Delaware	$67,616	$33
   13	Colorado	$67,088	$32
   14	Minnesota	$65,975	$32
   15	Arizona	$63,029	$30
   16	Virginia	$62,045	$30
   17	Ohio	$57,927	$28
   18	Texas	$56,768	$27
   19	Georgia	$56,407	$27
   20	Tennessee	$53,846	$26

   Average corporate paralegal salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton	$109,287	$52.54	7
   2	BGC Partners	$107,656	$51.76	2
   3	Fox Rothschild	$102,584	$49.32	25
   4	Kane Russell Coleman Logan	$102,102	$49.09
   5	Ropes & Gray	$101,835	$48.96	2
   6	The New York Times Company	$97,465	$46.86
   7	Salesforce	$94,807	$45.58	16
   8	BNY Mellon	$93,992	$45.19	6
   9	Lam Research	$91,943	$44.20	2
   10	Asana	$91,932	$44.20	5
   11	Citi	$91,266	$43.88	5
   12	Acorda Therapeutics	$88,326	$42.46
   13	DLA Piper	$88,033	$42.32	26
   14	W. R. Berkley	$87,390	$42.01
   15	Lattice Semiconductor	$86,569	$41.62
   16	EisnerAmper	$86,050	$41.37
   17	Bloom Energy	$85,305	$41.01
   18	Baker & Taylor	$84,882	$40.81
   19	Prologis	$84,311	$40.53	3
   20	Tufts Health Plan	$84,187	$40.47

4. Writing a corporate paralegal job description

   A corporate paralegal job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a corporate paralegal job description:

   Corporate paralegal job description example

   Experienced Senior Corporate and SEC Paralegal - '33 and '34 Act Public Company Reporting Experience Required
   
   A position has become available for an Experienced Corporate Paralegal with Cantor Fitzgerald, Newmark Group, Inc. and BGC Partners, Inc. This diverse position reports to our Corporate Secretary and Chief Counsel for Securities and Corporate Governance and will be responsible for working closely with legal and accounting staff to prepare, manage and file periodic reports (including 10-K; 10-Q; 8-K; proxy; Forms 3, 4, 5, 13D/G) with the SEC and coordinating audit committee, board and shareholder communications and meetings, as well as maintaining corporate books and records, board payments, stock, RSU and other equity issuances. Superior organizational skills and follow through are needed for this position, as well as willingness to take on special projects and work with various departments throughout our organization.
   
   Candidate must be able to communicate with senior executives, directors, outside attorneys, auditors and other senior participants.
   
   Candidate will be a primary liaison with the outside directors and committees and must take a proactive rule and significant responsibility in managing process and content.
   Must be flexible and take ownership of a fast-paced, deadline driven job.
   Specifically, the position will include: preparation of and assistance with public filings; coordinating information and responses from various departments within the company; drafting minutes and board materials and maintaining public company minute books and board records, director and officer incentive equity information and maintaining director payment records; communicating with officers and directors both verbally and in writing on a variety of matters; and managing certain aspects of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley procedures. Position may also require issuance and maintenance of shares pursuant to registration statements, management of Code of Ethics and other ESG processes and similar tasks. Position will also include some general corporate paralegal responsibilities including non-disclosure agreements, assisting with forming new legal entities and drafting minutes and maintaining minute books and state and local filings for various entities; maintaining other corporate resolutions and records including corporate officers, organizational chart, corporate profile; etc. Position may also include work on various agreements, mergers and acquisitions transactions, data rooms and similar matters and some administrative matters. Position may also require drafting of letters and Rule 144 and other opinions to stock transfer agent and communicating with various state and local agencies.
   Candidate will have a strong work ethic and professional demeanor and be comfortable communicating with outside directors by phone and in writing. Candidate should be flexible and a self-starter with the ability to develop the position and offer to assist without significant direction. Follow up and communication skills are critical, and the job is deadline driven. Candidate should be able to listen and act on detailed instructions and be organized and demonstrate good judgment and ability to maintain confidentiality. Position requires a good attitude and ability to remain focused and flexible as well as the ability to work well with the entire legal staff, outside directors and senior corporate executives. Sense of humor and grit are strongly encouraged.
   Successful candidates should have the following:
   Paralegal Certification and/or Bachelor's degree Strong communication skills and computer proficiency (MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint). Candidates will also be required to use board portal programs like Diligent to assemble and maintain board materials. Workiva experience with SEC filings is also very useful and will be used in the position. Excellent writing and grammar skills are required. Previous in-house corporate experience and/or financial industry experience is preferred and experience with SEC filings is required.
   These success factors work at our firm:
   Flexible, Problem Solver, Grit Helpful, Congenial, Personable, Positive Unpretentious, Approachable, Respectful, Teamwork Mentality Accountable, Takes Ownership, Corrects Mistakes Organized, Timely, Confidential, Responsive

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right corporate paralegal for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your corporate paralegal job on Zippia to find and recruit corporate paralegal candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit corporate paralegals, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new corporate paralegal

   Once you've decided on a perfect corporate paralegal candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new corporate paralegal. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a corporate paralegal?