The Role of a Contract Paralegal

What is the role of a Contract Paralegal?

A contract paralegal is a legal professional who works for the in-house legal department of an organization on a temporary or project-based basis. Their primary purpose is to support legal operations under the supervision of the attorneys on the team. A primary benefit for contract paralegals is that they get to enjoy the flexibility of their role and choose to accept or decline jobs based on their preferences. This role can be appealing to those who prefer a more flexible work schedule or to those who would prefer to work independently.

Their skills and expertise make contract paralegals valuable assets to legal teams, helping them to manage their workflows and ensure the efficient handling of legal matters. 

What are the core responsibilities of a contract paralegal? 

Corporate paralegals are responsible for various administrative tasks within the legal department that include: 

• Legal Research: Researching and staying up-to-date on laws, regulations, and legislation is an important part for the role of corporate paralegals to ensure that the company remains compliant with application laws. 
• Intake & Triage: In some departments, paralegals must manually sort through legal requests and direct each request to the appropriate lawyer to bring it to resolution. 
• Record Keeping: Corporate paralegals are responsible for drafting and maintaining organizational documents and filings annual required reports.
• Litigation Support: In this role, assisting attorneys with litigation matters, including responding to document requests, complaints, and discovery is required. 
• Contract Management: Drafting, reviewing, and updating various contracts such as employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements, vendor contracts, and partnership agreements are all vital to the role of a corporate paralegal. 

Challenges for a Corporate Paralegal

The responsibilities of a contract paralegal are like that of a corporate paralegal. However, these responsibilities may vary depending on the specific needs of their employer and the paralegal’s area of specialization in relation to their current project. Since they have the flexibility to work on projects or time-limited work, they get to choose their assignments that match their skill set and preferences. Some responsibilities include: 

• Legal research & document preparation: Contract paralegals are responsible for conducting legal research on various topics and draft the corresponding legal documents, pleadings, correspondence, and other research materials. 
• Contract management: In this role, they must ensure that contracts are in adherence to relevant legal and regulatory requirements and company policies. This is done by drafting, reviewing, and maintaining various types of contracts. 
• Litigation support: Assisting with pre-trial and discovery work, including document review and e-discovery, is a key part in the role of contract paralegals. They must also help in monitoring ongoing litigation and providing support to outside counsel and may also be expected to help respond to third-party subpoenas. 
• Administrative support: Contract paralegals provide administrative support to the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and legal team. This can include managing schedules, calendars, and appointments while also handling other administrative tasks. 
• Specialized project support: Since contract paralegals can be hired on a project-based basis, they help to handle special projects assigned by the legal team through creating reports and presentations as needed. 

How can technology help advance the role of contract paralegals?

For contract paralegals, their goal is to provide flexible and reliable legal support to their team to maintain effective legal operations. They also strive to develop their expertise in specific legal areas or types of work, and by having the flexibility and independence to choose projects, they can gain diverse experience across different organizations. 

Technology can help contract paralegals achieve their goals by enhancing their efficiency and enabling them to take on more complex responsibilities through leveraging advanced software. Paralegal software helps to streamline the manual task of intake and triage through a legal front door where requests can be submitted directly to the legal department. This eliminates the need to manually sort and triage requests, ensuring they reach the appropriate attorney promptly. Automated document review and legal analytics also can ensure faster and more accurate reviews of complex legal documents.

In-house matter management systems streamline the organization and tracking of legal matters, improving coordination and oversight. Legal workflow software automates routine tasks, manages deadlines, and integrates various legal processes, maintaining optimal workflow and productivity. By leveraging these technologies, contract paralegals can position themselves as valuable assets in the evolving legal landscape. This technological proficiency allows them to focus on higher-level tasks, strategic thinking, and client interaction, ultimately advancing their role within the legal profession.

How can Checkbox help? 

Checkbox provides in-house matter management that centralizes all legal matters, documents, and files to provide contract paralegals with clearer oversight into their work. This comprehensive view helps them to  improve the access, value, and speed of their services.

Discover how Checkbox can help streamline the work of contract paralegals by exploring our interactive demo to see the benefits firsthand.