This paper was prepared for The Justice and Development Working Paper Series. It examines the role of paralegals in providing a crucial link to justice services and legal redress in South Africa, particularly for the rural poor. The paper begins with a historical overview of paralegal services in South Africa from the apartheid period to the present. The study then maps the current state of the paralegal sector, and provides detailed information on the structure and function of key organizations that provide paralegal services. Through an analysis of twelve case studies of paralegal-assisted cases, the report identifies facilitating and hindering determinants of community advice office (CAO) functions at both the institutional and organization level. This working paper was written by Jackie Dugard and Kay Drage.