How to hire a senior paralegal

How to hire a senior paralegal, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior 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 senior paralegal job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior paralegal
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior paralegal do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior paralegal hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A senior paralegal's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior paralegals from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents senior paralegal salaries for various positions.

   Type of Senior Paralegal	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Paralegal	Paralegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.	$18-44
   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:

   • Legal Research
   • Litigation
   • Law Firm
   • Subpoenas
   • PowerPoint
   • Lexis
   • Real Estate
   • Intellectual Property
   • Trial Preparation
   • Excellent Organizational
   • Legal Issues
   • Due Diligence
   • Paralegal Support
   • Legal Support

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve sole responsibility for administration of all estates and guardianships.
   • Respond to active litigation in collaboration with internal custodians and external counsel, including responding to discovery requests and subpoenas.
   • Handle all corporate matters including annual shareholder documentation and shareholder meetings, prepare contracts and coordinate execution, and provide litigation support
   • Edit and proofread initial drafts, transcribes dictation and perform cite checking, copy assembly/attachments for filing and/or mailing.
   • Draft and prepare legal documents, correspondence, corporate resolutions and UCC's, together with file maintenance and organization.
   • Position entail all secretarial correspondence, dictation, expense reporting, record keeping and the handling of settlement documents and payments.

   More senior paralegal duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior paralegal job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior paralegal can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior paralegals' average salary in south carolina is 45% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior paralegals 59% less than senior-level senior paralegals.
   • Certifications. A senior paralegal with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior paralegal's salary.

   Average senior paralegal salary

   $60,125yearly

   $28.91 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior paralegal salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 16, 2026

   Average senior paralegal salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$83,316	$40
   2	Washington	$76,069	$37
   3	New York	$73,233	$35
   4	Massachusetts	$70,851	$34
   5	District of Columbia	$68,885	$33
   6	Connecticut	$68,773	$33
   7	Illinois	$67,234	$32
   8	Pennsylvania	$66,154	$32
   9	Delaware	$63,167	$30
   10	Utah	$62,992	$30
   11	Minnesota	$62,948	$30
   12	Rhode Island	$61,013	$29
   13	Colorado	$60,858	$29
   14	North Carolina	$56,644	$27
   15	Arizona	$55,063	$26
   16	Maryland	$53,965	$26
   17	Virginia	$52,181	$25
   18	Texas	$52,011	$25
   19	Tennessee	$49,771	$24
   20	Georgia	$49,115	$24

   Average senior paralegal salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$95,761	$46.04	14
   2	Workday	$95,638	$45.98
   3	Visa	$94,578	$45.47	1
   4	Northern Trust	$94,131	$45.26
   5	Cheniere Energy	$92,470	$44.46
   6	RH	$89,547	$43.05
   7	Skyworks Solutions	$89,126	$42.85
   8	BNY Mellon	$85,561	$41.14
   9	Morrison & Foerster	$85,465	$41.09
   10	City National Bank	$84,294	$40.53
   11	Morgan Stanley	$83,136	$39.97	1
   12	Walmart	$82,912	$39.86	2
   13	First Solar	$81,191	$39.03
   14	Salesforce	$81,168	$39.02
   15	Novo Nordisk	$80,741	$38.82
   16	Toyota Financial Svc	$79,650	$38.29
   17	Match Group	$79,591	$38.26
   18	Huff Powell Bailey	$78,519	$37.75	2
   19	Epicor	$77,588	$37.30
   20	CNA Insurance	$77,063	$37.05

4. Writing a senior paralegal job description

   A job description for a senior paralegal role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior paralegal job description:

   Senior paralegal job description example

   C2 ALASKA, LLC
   Washington, DC
   
   The Paralegal III Senior shall provide legal support to the Security Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Corporation Finance to assist the Commission in setting the regulatory policy; oversee disclosure of information to investors; issue guidance on the federal securities law and regulations and provide regulatory relief where appropriate.
   
   Responsibilities
   
   Compiles, prepares, and summarizes relevant materials for use by attorneys in discovery and in preparation of motions, briefs, and other legal documents. Summarizes depositions and other transcripts. Compare and reconcile financial statements and related information of public companies Conduct comparative analysis and other trend analysis. Review routing documents and verify the accuracy of data. Assist with the Administration of Training and special projects as they arise. Maintains case files; performs simple or compiles legal research; indexes, tracks, and controls document discovery (including documents produced and received in discovery). Indexes, tracks, and controls exhibits and other materials at depositions and at trial. May synopsize transcripts of hearings and oral arguments for attorney use. Reviews case related materials and, for example, identifies potentially conflicting statements or areas requiring further investigation. Writes preliminary drafts of legal memoranda and correspondence. Prepares exhibit cross-references. Reviews documents for relevance and privilege according to established guidelines and criteria. Initial screening of low-risk filings (e.g. proxy statements, 8-K reverse mergers, etc.) Record keeping and scheduling of rulemaking process using SharePoint system. Compiling documents for FOIA, production requests, Congressional inquiries, etc. Prepare spreadsheets, charts, and other summaries of financial and other data under the direction of attorneys and accountants. Other duties as assigned
   Qualifications
   
   Bachelor's Degree in a related labor category field such as Paralegal Studies, Legal Studies, or Criminal Justice from an accredited college, university, school or educational institution that has been accredited by accrediting bodies or organizations recognized by the US Department of Education. At least Six (6) years of Paralegal experience At least one (1) year of experience in the financial regulations or securities industry with work related to financial regulations or legal research in addition to securities Paralegal Certificate (Certificate not required if degree is in Paralegal Studies) Experience may be considered in lieu of education Ability to provide favorable credit history. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
   Candidate must be able to work effectively in an extremely pressured environment. Must have and use excellent oral and written communications skills. Experience in litigation support during trial, including courtroom and interviewing witnesses. Candidate typically works on high-visibility or mission critical aspects of a given project and performs all functional duties independently. Candidate may oversee the efforts of less senior staff and/or be responsible for the efforts of all staff assigned to a specific job. Must be able to work effectively in an extremely pressured environment. Must have and use excellent oral and written communications skills. Must be proficient with Microsoft 2010 or newer programs Physical Demands (The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)
   While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee may use repeated motions that include the arms, wrists, hands and/or fingers. The employee is occasionally required to walk, stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right senior 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 senior paralegal job on Zippia to find and recruit senior paralegal candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior paralegals, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 senior paralegal

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior paralegal position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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