A legal assistant, also known as a paralegal is extremely important to the lawyer itself. The lawyer can trust their assistant to carry out research work and meet with witnesses to strengthen the case; all while they are tending to more serious matters.
If you’re looking to become a paralegal, or have an interest in law, you should know what paralegals are, what they do, how much they earn and typically how long it takes them in their journey to become a legal assistant.
Paralegal Definition
A paralegal is retained by a certified attorney as their assistant who helps them win cases. A paralegal is a trained person to carry out important legal tasks, but is not yet certified as a full-functioning lawyer.
Paralegal services include all types of work related to the court and the case: preparing all types of court documents, planning finances, including estates with will and trust plans, and corporate services. Paralegals prepare numbers of court documents such as motions, briefs and depositions for their supervisor attorney.
How to become a Legal Assistant?
To become a legal assistant, there are certain requirements that you need to fulfill; it starts with a bachelor’s degree and a certificate in paralegal studies, or you could complete an associate’s degree in paralegal studies.
Students are expected to maintain a CGPA of more than 2.0 at least to graduate from the institution, and just like lawyers, paralegals too can specialize in their field of choice. Examples include:
- Real estate
- Family law
- Immigration
- Bankruptcy
- Intellectual property
- Labor laws
- Criminal law
- Corporate law
- Personal injury
- Litigation
After you’ve received your degree, the next step is to gain experience by doing internships in renowned law firms, government agencies, DA’s office, public defender’s office etc. From here you can build on the skills that you really need and soon apply for high-paying jobs at law firms.
How long does it take to become a Legal Assistant?
It takes about 4-6 years to become a legal assistant; this includes four semesters or two years worth of course work, along with a four year bachelor’s degree (eight semesters). And additionally, you will have to do a postgraduate degree as well which is for about two years (four semesters).
When all of these educational requirements are met with, legal assistants are required to get some hands-on experience on internships or working pro-bono cases under a mentor. This may take a couple of months, and these could really uplift your CV for professional work too.
So, on average, it takes about 6 years until you become a legal assistant.
Paralegal Salary
Even though paralegals aren’t certified lawyers, they are fully trained in the legal world, which is why on average they earn somewhere around $7.25 to $32.50 per hour, with an average of most paralegals of around $15.49 per hour.
Different states have different salaries for their paralegals- let’s have a look.
| State | Hourly Wage | Annual Salary |
| New York – Paralegal Salary | $24.10 | $50,119 |
| Massachusetts – Paralegal Salary | $23.87 | $49,645 |
| Washington – Paralegal Salary | $23.70 | $49,299 |
| New Hampshire – Paralegal Salary | $23.23 | $48,316 |
| Hawaii – Paralegal Salary | $22.92 | $47,681 |
| Maryland – Paralegal Salary | $22.12 | $46,009 |
| Connecticut – Paralegal Salary | $22.11 | $45,994 |
| Rhode Island – Paralegal Salary | $21.93 | $45,620 |
| Alaska – Paralegal Salary | $21.90 | $45,562 |
| Vermont – Paralegal Salary | $21.81 | $45,372 |
| Nebraska – Paralegal Salary | $21.79 | $45,315 |
| Nevada – Paralegal Salary | $21.73 | $45,204 |
| North Dakota – Paralegal Salary | $21.65 | $45,033 |
| Wyoming – Paralegal Salary | $21.63 | $44,994 |
| California – Paralegal Salary | $21.60 | $44,921 |
| Virginia – Paralegal Salary | $21.50 | $44,721 |
| Kentucky – Paralegal Salary | $21.07 | $43,821 |
| South Dakota – Paralegal Salary | $21.02 | $43,718 |
| New Jersey – Paralegal Salary | $20.97 | $43,623 |
| West Virginia – Paralegal Salary | $20.95 | $43,570 |
| Pennsylvania – Paralegal Salary | $20.85 | $43,359 |
| South Carolina – Paralegal Salary | $20.74 | $43,135 |
| Minnesota – Paralegal Salary | $20.72 | $43,095 |
| Oregon – Paralegal Salary | $20.67 | $42,991 |
| Delaware – Paralegal Salary | $20.67 | $42,985 |
| Tennessee – Paralegal Salary | $20.65 | $42,955 |
| Colorado – Paralegal Salary | $20.64 | $42,928 |
| Montana – Paralegal Salary | $20.62 | $42,896 |
| Ohio – Paralegal Salary | $20.50 | $42,645 |
| Wisconsin – Paralegal Salary | $20.45 | $42,544 |
| Arizona – Paralegal Salary | $20.41 | $42,455 |
| Kansas – Paralegal Salary | $20.32 | $42,272 |
| Utah – Paralegal Salary | $20.31 | $42,253 |
| Indiana – Paralegal Salary | $20.28 | $42,183 |
| Oklahoma – Paralegal Salary | $20.25 | $42,116 |
| Idaho – Paralegal Salary | $20.19 | $41,997 |
| Maine – Paralegal Salary | $20.18 | $41,965 |
| Louisiana – Paralegal Salary | $20.09 | $41,795 |
| Iowa – Paralegal Salary | $19.89 | $41,364 |
| Georgia – Paralegal Salary | $19.69 | $40,956 |
| Texas – Paralegal Salary | $19.46 | $40,486 |
| New Mexico – Paralegal Salary | $19.42 | $40,398 |
| Michigan – Paralegal Salary | $19.37 | $40,296 |
| Arkansas – Paralegal Salary | $19.36 | $40,266 |
| Illinois – Paralegal Salary | $19.25 | $40,047 |
| Alabama – Paralegal Salary | $19.23 | $39,998 |
| Mississippi – Paralegal Salary | $19.04 | $39,593 |
| Missouri – Paralegal Salary | $18.99 | $39,500 |
| Florida – Paralegal Salary | $18.56 | $38,602 |
| North Carolina – Paralegal Salary | $17.67 | $36,757 |
Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of ZipRecruiter.
Conclusion
To get legal assistant jobs,you must complete the requirements asked of you including educational and training requirements too. One must be qualified, because on average it takes almost 4-6 years of training and education to become a legal assistant. Related jobs can be looked for online, or your mentor could recommend you to some renowned law firms to get your first job!
