Paralegal salary is a set of different types of salaries clubbed together. They include base salary, bonus and over time pay. It is assumed that in today environment, it’s the paralegals that earn good amount of money. The Paralegal salary is estimated to be around $34,000 to $70,000. To expect such a huge amount of salary, it is important to know what exactly the work of paralegal is. The most common functions of paralegal includes meeting with the clients and witnesses, researching the laws pertinent to a case, drafting legal documents, and assisting attorneys with the trial preparation and during legal proceedings. Most paralegals have either an associate’s degree on legal assisting or a bachelors degree in another field, with a certificate in legal assisting. There are many community colleges that offer paralegal training programs and legal assisting certification programs. The National Association of Legal Assistants offers a two day exam; candidates who pass them successfully may use either the Certified Legal Assistant or Certified Paralegal designation. And thus these designations define the Paralegal salary earn by the person.

Paralegal salary range

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009, the median annual Paralegal salary was $46,980. But the salary range differs from industries to the state you are practicing it. The top paying industries include petroleum & coal products manufacturing which pays around $81,150 Paralegal salary; medical and diagnostic labs pay roughly $72,550; software publishers: $70,660; professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers: $69,650; computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing offers $69,200 as Paralegal salary.
There are certain states that offer handsome Paralegal salary to professionals. They include Columbia, offering $64,760; New York with $60,140; California: $59,690; Illinois offering $54,690 and Alaska offering Paralegal salary of $52,640.

Annual compensation for Paralegal salary of 2009 and 2006

According to the annual compensation survey for Paralegal salary of 2009, it was stated that the paralegals who are working in law firms will receive higher base compensation than law department peers. Also within law firms, the paralegals working in litigation support/technology managers will receive a median annual base Paralegal salary of $121,012. The 2006 Annual Compensation Survey for Paralegals indicated that annual bonuses of $2000 were given on average to paralegals and the median over time compensation was $ 3,922 annually. As always, the private sector paralegals, received 10.4% more in median total cash compensation or Paralegal salary than those working in public sector. This difference in pay is mainly due to over time done by paralegals in private sector.

Bonuses in Paralegal salary

Apart from the basic salary, everyone loves receiving bonuses and this same is applied when distributing Paralegal salary. Law firms compensate paralegals based on the quantity and quality of their work and the value of that work to the law practice. Paralegal salary also comprises of referral fee. This referral fee is given to those paralegals, which refer the clients to the firm. Paralegal can earn as much as they want, once they gain experience and learn to do their job efficiently and effectively. All these factors will help a paralegal to calculate its Paralegal salary.