Paralegal Salary Ranges
When you initially start working the salary for a paralegal is usually between $22,000 to $32,000 depending on the type of job you take and where you work. A legal assistant working in a large corporate firm in one of the big cities is going to earn more than one who starts at a small practice in a smaller town. For example the average paralegal salary in West Virginia is about $35,000 whereas it is almost double this in Washington D.C.. Experienced paralegals working in the big cities can earn a salary in excess of $100,000 per year.
Factors affecting the paralegal salary range
Two factors have most influence on paralegal salaries and that is relevant experience and your chosen area of specialization.
Relevant experience:
The longer you have been working as a paralegal the more likely you are to have graduated from the more basic tasks assigned to newly qualified legal assistants. Your day to day diary will resemble that of an attorney with you working on more complex tasks such as drafting legal documents or closing opinions. As your skills and knowledge levels develop you can command higher salaries. It is important that you have your paralegal certification plus that you are continuing your education if you want to reach this salary level. But it comes at a cost as you will work similar hours to attorneys and may have little time for your family or home life.
Chosen area of specialization:
The area of law you choose to specialize in will have a direct impact on the salary range applicable to your position. You will earn more working as a legal assistant in corporate law or litigation. Large companies can afford to retain expensive attorneys and their staff to work on product liability cases, copyright violation etc. They will spend a lot of money on protecting their brand, corporate image etc. You will already know that legal assistants working in litigation are paid well but they earn every penny. It is a fast paced ever changing area of law where long working hours are the norm. This branch of the law is probably the most exciting but you have to have nerve, the ability to think clearly on your feet and stamina for the long hours. You may also need a strong stomach as some of the crimes you may deal with will be gruesome.
If you are good at managing people, a skill not everyone has, you may move up the salary ladder by taking on responsibility for junior legal assistants and those starting out in their paralegal career. Law firms want to cut costs and while an attorney has to supervise the work on the paralegal, the day to day management of the staff can be the responsibility of a senior paralegal.
If you have trained in a prior career for example as a nurse you may find you earn a higher salary as a paralegal specializing in medical malpractice cases. If you have business experience, perhaps you trained as an accountant but didn’t pass your final exams you could earn a nice salary working as a paralegal specializing in anti fraud cases. If you are knowledgeable on the internet and have computer experience and qualifications, there is a whole new area of law involving international internet crime just waiting for you.
Don’t Just Go For The Highest Paralegal Salary
But obviously you cannot judge the merits of a job solely on the salary. While paralegal salaries are higher in the bigger cities so too are the living costs i.e. dearer accommodation, travel costs etc. Where you work depends on your interests and also your plans for your career progression. While paralegal salaries do vary, you will be able to command a higher salary if your paralegal resume includes work experience at larger well regarded law firms. Some newly qualified legal assistants will move to the big cites to build up their skills, knowledge and experience before moving back to a smaller town to see out the rest of their career.
In addition to the paralegal salary on offer you also want to think about what the job offers from a satisfaction point of view. If you work in a large firm you are likely to get involved in some exciting cases but you will be restricted to a particular area of the law. This will help you to specialize faster but if you are unsure of what area of law interests you the most it may be the wrong position for you. If you work for a small firm you tend to become a jack of all trades i.e. you get involved in virtually every case that firm may handle. You could be helping a client file for bankruptcy, file for custody or make their will all in one day. If you are not particularly motivated by high paralegal salaries but love the idea of helping people you may want to look at a job in a probono law firm. These organizations help those less advantaged members of our society. You can choose from firms that work with clients on death row, protecting the environment or those geared towards protecting civil liberties. As a legal assistant in one of these firms you won’t earn a high salary but you could get a lot of job satisfaction.
The highest paying paralegal jobs are not necessarily the same ones that offer the most job satisfaction. Your chances of earning more money will increase with the completion of your paralegal studies and by ensuring you stay committed to ongoing paralegal training. This won’t be easy as no matter which law firms you work in, all share the same approach of making their staff work long hours. This won’t leave much free time for studying.
Job outlook
With the US department of labor predicting that the number of jobs in the paralegal profession will rise dramatically over the next few years, now is a great time to take your paralegal certification. Employers are trying to reduce costs in order to survive and prosper in these difficult financial times. They have realized that well qualified legal assistants as paralegals are also known, can do much of the work an attorney can do but at a much reduced cost. Therefore the number of job vacancies is predicted to soar. Don’t get too hung up looking at median salary ranges. Just make sure that the job you get is the one you want.