This is a very common question that comes up often. Even though paralegal salaries in Texas aren’t as high as in the U.S. or those in the west coast, this is still a great starting salary for someone who is looking to land a job that is just as lucrative as the one they currently have.
What’s in a name? We often think that when a person who is called a paralegal gets a job at a firm they have to be some sort of paralegal. In reality most paralegals are licensed attorneys or secretaries so there really isn’t that much difference between their jobs. In fact, the kind of work paralegals do is often quite different from what a regular attorney does.
For example, the kind of paralegal work that you can get (like being the paralegal at the firm handling the attorney’s caseload) is very different than what a regular lawyer does (i.e. the person who is responsible for writing, reviewing, or interpreting the terms of a contract). Paralegals are often involved in billing and collections and many paralegals find this to be one of their biggest jobs.
The biggest difference between paralegals and attorneys is that paralegals work in the form of a contract and not a legal opinion. A paralegal is not an attorney and she does not have the ability to argue in court. Paralegals, however, typically have a lot more work than an attorney because of the nature of the work. For example, a paralegal will often be responsible for processing payroll, making monthly statements, and paying bills.
Paralegals are also often called “attorneys” because they are expected to make the same amount of money while working on a case as they would be if they were working on a case. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an attorney is the highest paid job in America and also the third most lucrative in the U.S.
That is to say, they are the most paid positions in the U.S. for lawyers. The median hourly compensation for paralegals in Texas was $30.70. That is the third highest in the country and is the highest in the state of Texas.
I don’t know if this is a problem or not, but my friend who is a paralegal was recently offered a job that pays less than the average lawyer. She wants to work for the same firm she’s worked for for 10 years and this would be the first time she’s had a pay increase within 5 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly compensation for paralegals in Texas was 30.70.
I can’t help but wonder if this is a problem. That is, if paralegals in Texas should feel secure that they are making more money than they could ever hope to make and that they have the ability to keep up with inflation if they want to. I’m sure there are jobs out there that are making more money than paralegals in Texas and that are probably more desirable, but these are not paralegal jobs.
In fact, only a small percentage of paralegals make more than $35,000 per year. The majority of them make $25,000 or more. And this figure is not just for paralegals, but for all types of professionals. The problem is that it seems that this figure is not only a function of the number of jobs available in the state, but also the salaries they are able to command.
The paralegals in Texas are not the only professionals struggling for a decent salary. There are other professions that are paying less. For example, a forensic paralegal in Texas with an annual salary of $40,000 may be making $18,800 per year. That’s not a great salary for someone working in a legal profession, although the same thing would be true for any other fields.