Paralegals & Legal Assistants

Legal

AI exposure

  • Data source: BLSPublished: '26.08

    High· relative

    LowFour relative bandsVery high

    Group-level value

    Scale, basis and source

    Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)

    831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band

    Source dataset (XLSX download)

  • Data source: AnthropicPublished: '26.03

    0.293

    0.000Range of values carried here0.745
    Scale, basis and source

    Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published

    Mapped onto O*NET tasks

    Source dataset

  • Data source: ILOPublished: '25

    0.39

    0.09Range of values carried here0.70

    Group-level value

    Scale, basis and source

    Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published

    ISCO-08 unit group — every occupation sharing the code gets this value

    Computed by this site, not published by the ILO: of the 1,012 occupations this site links to the ILO dataset, 44% score at or above this value.

    Source dataset

What kind of figure this source publishes

The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.

Task-level exposure

Exposed tasks only
TaskClaude.aiRaw / share %
Prepare legal documents, including briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.

23-2011

0.048894.1
Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents.

23-2011

0.00315.9
Not observed on any surface — 10 task(s) These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states.
Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
0
Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits.
0
Meet with clients and other professionals to discuss details of case.
0
File pleadings with court clerk.
0
Call upon witnesses to testify at hearing.
0
Direct and coordinate law office activity, including delivery of subpoenas.
0
Keep and monitor legal volumes to ensure that law library is up-to-date.
0
Appraise and inventory real and personal property for estate planning.
0
Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases.
0
Arbitrate disputes between parties and assist in the real estate closing process, such as by reviewing title searches.
0

Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page

Occupation information

Recent Changes Affecting This Occupation

Apr 2026: OpenAI Jobs Transition Framework (April 2026) classifies paralegals in the 18% high-risk cluster: heavy document review, citation checking, and templated drafting are core LLM strengths.

[Source: OpenAI Jobs Transition Framework, April 2026]

Mar 2026: Brookings: regulated sectors (law) show constrained AI adoption due to privacy and liability concerns.

[Source: Brookings Institution]

Mar 2026: HBR: Paralegals classified as automation-vulnerable due to high text-processing task share. Job postings declining as AI handles document review and legal research.

[Source: HBR (Mar 2026)]