Is a term used in many countries to describe non-lawyers who assist lawyers in their legal work.
Paralegals are not lawyers. They are not authorized by the government or anyone to offer legal services in the same way, nor are they officers of the court (i.e. considered a formal part of the legal system), nor are they usually subject to government-/court-sanctioned rules of conduct.
Paralegals originated as assistants to lawyers at a time when only lawyers offered legal services. In those jurisdictions, such as the United States, where the local legal profession/judiciary is involved in paralegal recognition/accreditation then the profession of paralegal still basically refers to those people working under the direct supervision of a lawyer. In other jurisdictions however, such as the United Kingdom, the lack of local legal profession/judiciary oversight means that the definition of paralegal encompasses non-lawyers doing legal work, regardless of who they do it for. Although most jurisdictions recognize paralegals to a greater or lesser extent, there is no international consistency as to definition, job-role, status, terms and conditions of employment, training, regulation or anything else and so each jurisdiction must be looked at individually.