20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You’ll split time between legal research, drafting, and client contact. A morning might start by checking Microsoft Outlook and Google Workspace for client emails and court deadlines.
Then you pull statutes, cases, and evidence, draft memos in Microsoft Word, save files to SharePoint, and prepare filings as PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. Evenings often include billing entries in QuickBooks or time tracked in Excel.
Start with Microsoft Word and Outlook — almost every draft, email, and scheduling task uses those. Learn basic formatting, track-changes, and calendar invites.
Next, learn Adobe Acrobat for PDFs, SharePoint for shared documents, and Excel for simple invoicing or lists. Knowing Google Workspace helps if the office uses Gmail or Drive instead of Microsoft.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were about 392,880 legal-research-related workers in 2025 with a median wage of $62,890 per year.
The bottom tenth earned about $44,740 and the top tenth about $101,500, per BLS data. Local pay varies by city, experience, and employer type.
Yes, AI can speed searches and draft initial summaries, but always verify sources yourself. Use Word and Adobe Acrobat to check and annotate originals, and save versions to SharePoint.
Never paste confidential client facts into public AI tools. Confirm citations by opening the case law or statute in a trusted database or court website before relying on it.
A legal researcher focuses mainly on finding cases, statutes, and evidence, then summarizing results and preparing memos. Tasks here include legal research, studying hearings, and preparing reports.
Paralegals often do broader client contact, billing, scheduling, and document preparation like contracts and closings. Law clerks (often law students) might draft opinions or help with trial prep under a judge or firm.
Learn strong legal research methods: how to find cases and statutes, read opinions, and summarize facts clearly in Word. Be precise with citation and dates.
Also build practical office skills: Outlook for calendars and client emails, Acrobat for filings, SharePoint for version control, and basic QuickBooks/Excel for billing and invoicing.
You’ll often prepare court filings and convert them to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat, plus gather and label evidence for hearings. Handling physical evidence depends on office rules, but you’ll log it and prepare summaries.
Client calls and scheduling use Outlook or Google Workspace. Expect to draft witness lists, pose document-based questions, and help coordinate witness testimony and real estate closings when required.