Will AI replace paralegals?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 51% of the working time in a typical paralegal job today. The other 49% still needs a person.

Paralegal at work

49% of the work still needs a person.

Needs a person: 49%A person checking AI: 23%AI alone: 28%

The bracket under the bar is the evidence range for the share AI could take on: 32 to 51%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry.

10 responsibilities in a typical paralegal job. Median pay $62,890 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Meet with clients about their cases
  • Draft legal letters and organize case files AI helps
  • Draft and review legal documents AI helps
  • Coordinate office work and serve subpoenas
  • Research statutes and court decisions AI helps
  • File court papers with the clerk AI helps

AI can do or help with

  • Draft and review legal documents AI helps
  • Draft legal letters and organize case files AI helps
  • Research statutes and court decisions AI helps
  • Research the facts of a case AI helps
  • Organize exhibits and files for trial AI helps
  • File court papers with the clerk AI helps

The biggest responsibilities on each side, ranked by a person's time on the left. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces, so one can show on both sides. See all 10, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace paralegals?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 51% of the working time in a typical paralegal job today. The other 49% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: draft and review legal documents, draft legal letters and organize case files, research statutes and court decisions, research the facts of a case, organize exhibits and files for trial, file court papers with the clerk.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: meet with clients about their cases, draft legal letters and organize case files, draft and review legal documents, coordinate office work and serve subpoenas, research statutes and court decisions, file court papers with the clerk.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 12 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0), and the split covers the 10 people in it do today. Each is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. The evidence range for the share AI could take on is 32 to 51%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry. Scores version 0.8.5, updated November 10, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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