Corporate legal department leaders searching for ways to cut outside spending might want to start asking law firms if paralegals can handle more work. 

Most general counsel recognize the value of using paralegals for in-house work, but many aren’t questioning whether their go-to law firms can shift more work to paralegals’ plates, according to Nathan Cemenska, director of legal operations and industry insights at Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions in Cleveland.