Paralegal Resume Example

Sofia Martinez

[email protected] • (555) 743-0000 • Dallas, TX • linkedin.com/in/sofiamartinez • ACP Certified Paralegal

Professional Summary

Senior litigation paralegal with 7 years supporting complex commercial and employment cases at AmLaw 200 firms. Experienced in e-discovery management, deposition coordination, trial preparation, and document review across multi-party disputes. Known for maintaining meticulous case files, meeting every court deadline across 40+ active matters simultaneously, and reducing attorney review time through well-organized privilege logs and chronologies.

Experience

Senior Litigation Paralegal Hargrove & Slade LLP — Dallas, TX | 2021–Present

Support a team of 5 partners and 8 associates across 40+ concurrent commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts; zero missed filing deadlines across 3 years.
Managed e-discovery for a $72M breach-of-contract case involving 1.4 million documents: coordinated with Relativity vendor, applied 23 custodian search protocols, and produced a 340,000-document set within a 6-week court-ordered window.
Prepared trial binders, exhibit lists, and witness files for 4 trials; lead paralegal for a 3-week federal trial in the Northern District of Texas, supporting 2 lead partners and a 6-person trial team.
Drafted and filed motions, summons, and civil cover sheets in PACER/CM-ECF across 18 federal districts; trained 2 junior paralegals on federal filing procedures and local rules.

Litigation Paralegal Bellwood Connors & Marsh — Houston, TX | 2018–2021

Coordinated 120+ depositions over 3 years, handling scheduling, exhibit preparation, court reporter engagement, and transcript management across employment and IP matters.
Built and maintained privilege logs for 6 large-scale discovery productions; logs were accepted by opposing counsel without dispute in all 6 matters.
Researched case law and statutory authority using Westlaw and LexisNexis to support motion drafting; summaries cited directly in 11 filed briefs.

Paralegal Torres Legal Group — Houston, TX | 2016–2018

Supported general civil litigation practice across personal injury, contract, and real estate disputes for a boutique firm of 8 attorneys.
Drafted demand letters, settlement agreements, and client correspondence reviewed and sent under attorney supervision.

Education & Certification

A.A.S. Paralegal Studies • ACP Certified Paralegal (NALA) Lone Star College — 2016

Skills & Tools

E-Discovery: Relativity, Logikcull, DISCO • Research: Westlaw, LexisNexis, Bloomberg Law • Filing: PACER/CM-ECF, TXCourts e-file, state court portals • Practice Management: Clio, iManage, NetDocuments, Microsoft Office Suite

Why this resume works

Zero missed filing deadlines across 3 years is the most credible claim a litigation paralegal can make. It requires no explanation and signals total reliability under deadline pressure.

The e-discovery bullet names the case value ($72M), document volume (1.4 million), and timeline (6-week court order). Hiring attorneys read those three numbers and immediately understand the complexity of work this paralegal can handle.

Trial experience is specified by duration (3-week federal trial) and team size (2 partners, 6-person team). Federal trial support is a differentiator that most paralegal resumes leave vague.

The privilege log bullet closes with "accepted without dispute in all 6 matters" — a peer-validated outcome that speaks directly to accuracy and thoroughness.

Certifications (ACP) appear in both the contact line and education section, maximizing ATS keyword hits for firms that filter on credentialed candidates.

3 tips for paralegals in 2026

List your e-discovery platforms by name Relativity administrator experience is a premium skill that commands higher compensation. If you have built review workflows, set up batching, or managed custodian collections in Relativity, call it out explicitly. Law firms and legal departments ATS-filter for platform names in paralegal searches, and "e-discovery experience" without the software names will not match.

Quantify case volume and complexity "Supported complex litigation" is the most overused phrase on paralegal resumes. Replace it with specifics: number of concurrent matters, case values where known, and court jurisdictions. Hiring attorneys want to see that you can manage volume and complexity, not just that you describe it.

Show AI-assisted legal research literacy Tools like Harvey, CoCounsel, and Lexis+ AI are entering law firm workflows in 2026. Paralegals who can use AI research tools to produce faster, more thorough case law summaries are valuable to attorneys under billing pressure. Even basic fluency is worth noting alongside traditional Westlaw and LexisNexis credentials.