The short answer
Decide how much of a file this person will own, and whether any of the work needs a licence. In Ontario, a licensed paralegal can represent clients in some matters; in the US, the title usually means support work for a lawyer. Then write down how your lawyers work, and hire the paralegal whose working style fits, not just the one with the most credentials or who interviews the best. A paralegal who keeps a slipping deadline to themselves and one who asks about every step cost you the same thing: lawyer time.
Why this hire is hard right now
The licensed pool is much larger than the hiring pool. The Law Society of Ontario's 2024 annual report counted 11,488 licensed paralegals, of whom 4,332 were providing legal services, Law Times reported in September 2025. Job Bank rates the Toronto-region outlook for paralegals and related occupations "moderate" for 2025 to 2027: a few new positions, several openings from retirements. In the US, BLS projects flat employment through 2035 and about 40,800 openings a year, mostly from people leaving the occupation.
The work is being reshaped too. BLS says demand "is expected to be limited" by technology, including AI, which may make paralegals more efficient at research and document preparation. If tools take more of that, what is left is judgment, communication, and telling a lawyer early that something is wrong. That is working style. Where a practising paralegal has choices, how your lawyers work is part of your offer. Know it, write it down, and hire someone whose style matches or complements it.
What a paralegal does
The title covers three jobs. Decide which one you are hiring for before you write the posting. BLS's list of duties covers the first two, which we split by how much of the file the person runs. Ontario adds a third.
| Rung | What the person does | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Prepares | Works from a lawyer's instructions: researches, drafts correspondence, organizes documents, files with courts and agencies | Follows instructions closely and asks when one is unclear |
| Manages | Runs a file day to day: gathers facts, schedules interviews and meetings, tracks dates, helps at trials | Notices a slipping date and says so early |
| Practises (Ontario) | Takes matters the licence allows, such as Small Claims Court, provincial offences, or tribunals | Judges alone, and knows where the licence ends |
Write down which rung the job needs on day one, and which it needs in a year. The gap between the two is where a hire grows or stalls. The paralegal is also often the person who knows where every file stands, which is a strength until they are away. Ask how they leave a file so a colleague can pick it up.
The licence tells you what a paralegal may do. It says nothing about how they do it.
Working style: write it down first
Neither answer in the table is wrong. The trouble starts when a paralegal and a lawyer hold opposite ones. Answer each row for every lawyer the paralegal will support, separately.
| Moment | Write down, for each lawyer | What a mismatch looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Something goes wrong | Do you want to hear the moment a date or exhibit is at risk, or once there is a plan? | A missed service date is absorbed for a day in hope of a fix, and you hear about it from the other side. |
| Instructions conflict | Two lawyers want the same package by Friday: who sets priority, and how should the paralegal raise it? | The paralegal quietly serves the louder lawyer. |
| Feedback | Do you correct as the file moves or review at the end? Do you explain, or just fix it? | Edits come back marked up with no reasons, and the same error repeats. |
| Speed against quality | Which filings go out on the deadline, and which get a second read? | Every filing gets a second read, or none does. |
Where your lawyers answer differently, that difference is the brief. A paralegal who can describe how they adjust is worth more than one who says they are flexible.
What a bad hire costs
The most transparent estimate puts the cost of replacing an employee at about a fifth of salary, and it is probably low. A 2012 review by the Center for American Progress found a median of 21% of annual salary across most jobs, and 20% for jobs paying under US$50,000. Only 2 of its 11 papers counted indirect costs such as lost productivity. The data are historical and American, so read them as an order of magnitude. The larger bill is usually a lawyer's time: second reviews that go unbilled, and files that stall while the working relationship is repaired.
What fit research does and doesn't show
A 2005 meta-analysis of 172 studies found that fit with a supervisor tracked how people felt about the supervisor (corrected correlation .46) and the job (.44), but much less performance (.18) or tenure (.09). Only 5 to 14 studies sit behind each figure. So a mismatch is less likely to make a paralegal bad at the work than to make the day-to-day harder for both sides, and a lawyer lives with that every day.
How to screen for fit
Ask every candidate the same questions and score the answers against what you wrote down. A 2022 re-analysis of hiring research (Sackett and colleagues) ranked structured interviews first, with a validity of .42, ahead of work samples at .33, as summarized by SIOP. The figures cover job performance across occupations, not paralegals specifically.
Questions that surface working style
Ask about a real past situation, then keep asking "what did you do next?" until you hear actions, not intentions.
- Something went wrong: "Tell me about the last time you realized a date was at risk. When did you say something, and to whom?"
- Instructions conflicted: "Two lawyers needed you for the same deadline. What did you do?"
- Feedback: "What is the most useful correction you have received on a file? How did it change how you work?"
- Speed against quality: "Describe a filing where you had to choose between finishing and checking. What did you choose, and why?"
A 30-minute work sample
Hand over a mock file: a short chronology and three documents. Ask for a one-paragraph status memo a lawyer could read in 90 seconds, written so a colleague could pick up the file tomorrow. Build in two instructions that conflict and one missing date. Watch what the person does with the gaps:
- Asks before assuming: strongest.
- Assumes, and says so in the memo: good.
- Guesses silently: a risk, whatever else the memo shows.
References
Ask a former lawyer: "What did this person need from you to do their best work?" Then let finalists meet the lawyers they would support.
Canada and the US
| Ontario | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Title and licence | Licensed by the Law Society. Licensed paralegals can represent clients in matters such as Small Claims Court and tribunals. 11,488 licensed, 4,332 providing legal services (2024). | A support role for lawyers. Typical entry is an associate's degree or certificate; certification is optional (BLS). |
| Where they work | Toronto region: provincial public administration 28%, professional, scientific and technical services 26%, local public administration 24%, federal 19% (Job Bank). | Legal services 75%, local government 5%, federal government 4% (BLS). |
| Median pay | C$33.00 an hour, range C$20.71 to C$54.95 (Job Bank, 2023 to 2024 data). Toronto region: C$33.80. | US$62,890 a year; lowest 10% under US$44,740, highest 10% over US$101,500 (BLS, May 2025). |
| Outlook | "Moderate" for 2025 to 2027, Toronto region. | Flat employment, 2025 to 2035. |
FAQ
Do I need a licensed paralegal or a law clerk?
If the person will represent clients in Small Claims Court or before a tribunal, you need a licensed paralegal or a lawyer. If they will prepare and manage files under a lawyer's supervision, a law clerk or legal assistant can do that work.
How much does a paralegal earn in Ontario?
Job Bank's Ontario median is C$33.00 an hour, with a range of C$20.71 to C$54.95 (2023 to 2024 data). The Toronto-region median is C$33.80.
What do paralegals do in the US?
They support lawyers. BLS lists researching, drafting, organizing documents, filing with courts, and helping at trials. The typical entry route is an associate's degree or certificate.
What should I ask in a paralegal interview?
Ask about real past situations: a slipping date, two lawyers wanting the same deadline, a useful correction, and checking against finishing. Use the same questions for every candidate and add a short work sample.
How is AI changing paralegal work?
BLS says AI may make paralegals more efficient at research and document preparation, and that this may reduce demand. That is a projection, not a result. Hire for what tools do not do: checking output and flagging problems early.
Sources
All pages opened October 27, 2026.
- Law Times, September 17, 2025: LSO 2024 annual report cites more interlocutory suspensions and summary hearings. Licensee counts are for 2024.
- Lisa Trabucco (University of Windsor Faculty of Law), IAALS, March 29, 2023: Paralegal Regulation in Ontario, Canada: A Northern Experience
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Paralegals and Legal Assistants (last modified August 27, 2026)
- Job Bank, Government of Canada: Paralegals and related occupations (NOC 42200): outlook, Toronto region (2025 to 2027; outlook updated December 10, 2025)
- Job Bank, Government of Canada: Paralegal: wages in Canada and Ontario and Corporate Paralegal: wages in the Toronto region (Labour Force Survey and Employment Insurance data, 2023 to 2024; updated November 19, 2025)
- Center for American Progress, Boushey and Glynn, November 16, 2012: There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees
- Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman and Johnson (2005), Personnel Psychology 58(2), 281 to 342: Consequences of Individuals' Fit at Work. Person-supervisor figures from Table 4.
- Sackett, Zhang, Berry and Lievens (2022), Journal of Applied Psychology 107(11), 2040 to 2068, as summarized by SIOP's TIP