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Rising Star
The attorneys are the ones with the liability. If the attorney screws up, the attorney faces the consequences. If the paralegal screws up the attorney still faces the consequences.
Also, its two different areas of expertise. An attorneys area of expertise requires more education, more skill, and more liability. Keeping track of deadlines is a paralegals job. My question is, why didnt the paralegal catch it sooner and how long could it have taken to change a caption?
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I NEVER said they add no value, thats a ridiculous conclusion to draw from what I said... Im asserting they shouldn't be paid more than attorneys. Reading comprehension truly is a lost art.
Paralegals at big law firms can make 6 figures very easily
i’m in house and mine is coming very close to six figures.
Replying to Attorney 1 just so it’s clear. You are correct, it is the paralegals job. And when they are tracking deadlines for 100’s of cases it does take skill. However, we can agree to disagree on whether the attorney is able to do everything a paralegal can. I know first hand I can do way more than most attorneys with 10 years experience because I have 30+ years. It’s my job to cover their rears and my own. It’s the good paralegal’s that can juggle and never let anything hit the ground.
I would love to with the commenting attorneys. As a paralegal I draft responsive pleadings, discovery responses, dispositive motions and even motions to strike, in limine, etc the attorney reviews and approves for filing/service. All the above along with scheduling, tracking deadlines, writing reports, reviewing and summarizing records. Earning a salary less than $75k. The attorneys I work with take deposits, attend mediations and any necessary Court conferences until settlement or dismissal.
Please share if your firm is hiring for remote positions
you are not understanding how capitalism works. as the other person said - supply and demand. catching a careless mistake is something even an AI Agent can do and is not a unique value add to warrant a high income.
why do golf caddies get paid so low compared to the tour pros they caddy for?
why do construction workers get paid so low compared to the CEO of the construction company?
the ability to catch a careless mistake, build a house or read a putt is a lot more fungible than the ability to interpret or apply law; manage a construction company or win professional golf tournaments
Like a nurse saying they can do some of the work a doctor does..
100%. One of the many jobs of nurses, in fact, is checking dosages and other factual matters for mistakes by doctors, which happen fairly often, particularly for resident physicians. Nobody claims nurses should make more than doctors.
Us paralegals want to know the same thing! We make sure nothing is missed. Or at least I do.
C’est la vie, nobody ever says boy am I being paid too much for what I do
I worked for a subprime auto lender. Senior management made some bad bets on the economy, some poor decisions followed exacerbating the situation. They had 5 rounds of layoffs, roughly half of the company, and they all kept their jobs. It's the golden rule, "They which have the gold, make the rules".
It’s a function of the market. Competence as a paralegal isn’t remarkable. It should be expected.
Same goes for the “ senior” associate who makes more money and who made the mistake; a mistake that would have been costly to the firm. Acknowledgment and gratitude are free. As for its a function of the market is a cop out in my opinion, as there are paralegals that are well compensated in recognition of the value they add.
Supply and demand.
Senior Corporate Paralegals at my firm make over 200K base (ECVC) and still eligible for OT. While at mean time Senior Litigation Paralegals make around 130K max. All depends on supply and demand.
How often has the paralegal had to stay late? A handful of times a year at most? How about that associate? The para caught the deadline but I’m guessing the attorney wrote the motion or whatever pleading needed to go out. Staying late to fix a caption is not comparable or commendable. It is the job. Paralegals should be paid well but they are not on par with associates.
That is how the associate feels against partners. But that is just the job.