New Hampshire may be a small state, but its residents are fiercely proud. The New Hampshire colony was the first of the original 13 to declare independence from England, and New Hampshirite Alan Shepard was the first American to leave the planet and travel to space.
While New Hampshire’s population may be small at 1.3 million people, it still has plenty of jobs in the law field for those interested in becoming a paralegal. If you want to become a paralegal in New Hampshire, you can use the following process to apply to and compete for New Hampshire paralegal jobs:
New Hampshire Paralegal Certification
Basic Paralegal Certification Requirements
- Certification: New Hampshire does not require certification to work as a paralegal; certain employers may request certification, and it can also make you more competitive in the jobs market
- Age: New Hampshire law does not specify a minimum age for paralegals; most firms prefer people age 18 and older
- Licensure: No license is needed nor offered to operate as a paralegal in New Hampshire
- Degree: No minimum degree is specified for paralegals under New Hampshire law, but employers may request a minimum education level or educational instruction in a certain discipline
- Experience: No experience is required by New Hampshire law, but experience can be a minimum requirement or a competitive advantage when applying for paralegal positions
- Citizenship: All paralegals working in New Hampshire must either be U.S. citizens or authorized to live and work in the United States.
Additional Requirements:
- Background: No specific background is needed under New Hampshire law, but employers are likely to request a background check during the application process
Featured Schools
Becoming a Paralegal in New Hampshire
Certification is not a requirement for applying to paralegal jobs in New Hampshire, but it can help make you a more competitive candidate for higher-paying positions. Some employers or positions may require that you have a certification in order to be eligible for employment.
Certifications available to New Hampshire paralegals include the Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) and the Advanced Paralegal Certificate offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).
Major Cities in New Hampshire
- New Hampshire’s cities generally lack large populations, including its largest city, Manchester, which has 110,378 residents as of 2013 estimates
- Nashua is New Hampshire’s second-biggest city with 87,137 residents
- The third-biggest city in New Hampshire is Concord, which has 42,419 people
- At 30,510 people, Dover has the fourth-highest population of any New Hampshire city
- Even though its population sits just under 30,000, Rochester still qualifies as the fifth-biggest city in New Hampshire
What Does a Paralegal Do in New Hampshire?
In New Hampshire, paralegals operate under the supervision of licensed attorneys. These attorneys assume full responsibility for the actions of their employees, enabling them to delegate any number of tasks as long as they are not explicitly required by New Hampshire law to be acted out by a licensed attorney.
Duties of a paralegal in New Hampshire will vary greatly according to the needs of the position and the type of law practice the paralegal is employed at. Common tasks include filing, completing paperwork, interviewing clients, researching case history for their attorney, and performing other assistive functions.
New Hampshire Legal Assistant and Related Careers
Careers similar to paralegals in New Hampshire include litigation support professional, e-discovery professional, courthouse clerk, court cashier, trial consultant, jury consultant, mediator, legal secretary and assistant legal consultant.
Employment Numbers in New Hampshire
According to information from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 1,160 paralegals and legal assistants are employed in the state of New Hampshire. This quantity corresponds to 1.8 paralegals for every 1,000 jobs in the state. New Hampshire Employment Security’s Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau anticipates a 4 percent growth increase in the number of paralegal jobs available in the state by 2024.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Salary Ranges in New Hampshire
According to 2015 BLS data, the average annual salary of a paralegal in New Hampshire was $50,640. Paralegals in the non-metro area of central New Hampshire earned $58,080 a year, and those employed in Manchester earned $53,210 a year.
New Hampshire Paralegal Organizations
Online Paralegal Programs and Schools in New Hampshire
Online Paralegal Programs and Schools in New Hampshire
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Choose your area of study and receive free information about programs you are interested in. Pursuing an education in paralegal studies is vital to your success as a paralegal or legal assistant. Paralegals have a wide range of responsibilities that attorneys, law offices, and even government agencies rely on every day. A formal education is a must for paralegals looking to impress law offices in both the public and private sectors of the law.