Summary of the 2005 Paralegal Division Compensation Survey
All Districts Report, May 2006
This is a short sampling of the report on paralegals in Texas in 2005: their
work, compensation, benefits, and satisfaction. Statistics are presented on the
organizations or firm's paralegals work in, paralegal's salaries, how billing
for paralegal work is done, paralegal's education, office space and support,
employee benefits, support for the paralegal professional, and paralegal's
satisfaction with their work.
This particular report is of all paralegals across Texas. Reports in a
similar format are also available on respondents within each Paralegal Division
district as compared to all respondents. These reports are not limited to
members of the Paralegal Division. Respondents are separated into the various
Paralegal Division districts by their geographic location.
The information in this report was gathered in the 2005 State Bar of Texas
Paralegal Division Compensation Survey, which was available to the members of
the State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division and other invited groups from January
23, 2006 through February 8, 2006. This survey was conducted online through the
Paralegal Division website. A total of 782 paralegal respondents completed the
survey. Some 519 of the respondents were members of the Paralegal Division.
There were 1,521 eligible members of the Paralegal Division at the time of this
survey, so the Paralegal Division member response rate was 34 percent. The
remaining 263 respondents were paralegals who were not members of the Paralegal
Division.
A full report may be obtained through the Members Only section of the
Paralegal Division website (www.txpd.org). If
you are not a member of the Paralegal Division, you should check with your local
paralegal organization to ascertain whether they participated in the survey
program. If your local organization did participate in our survey program, a
copy of the full report was provided to them along with an additional report
with the survey information summarized specifically for your market area.
Section 1: Firm/Organization Structure
1.1 What type of organization are you employed by?
Law Firm: 79%
Corpation/Legal Department 14%
Government Entity 6%
Self-Employed 1%
Other 0.1%
Section 2: Salary Structure
2.1 What is the gross amount of your annual base salary? (excluding
overtime, bonuses, etc.) (full-time employees only)
Median gross annual salary:
for Corporation/Legal Dept is $55,278
for Law Firm is $45,695
for Government entity is $37,334
2.2. What is the gross amount of your annual base salary? (excluding
overtime, bonuses, etc.)
Median gross annual salary
for full time employees is $46,645
for part time employees is $28,751
or contract/freelance employees is $45001
2.3. If you began work during the past year with no prior legal experience,
what was your starting annual base salary?
Median starting annual salary is $17,292
2.4 Did you receive a bonus in 2005?
The chart below includes only those respondents who indicated they were
"Full time employees" in question 4.1.
2.5 If you received a bonus in 2005, what was the total dollar amount of
your bonus in 2005?
Median Bonus was $2,319
Section 3: Billing
3.1 If you have a billable requirement, how many hours per week are you
required to bill?
Median billing requirement is 34.2
3.2 If your time is billed at an hourly rate, what is the dollar amount of
your hourly billing rate?
Median hourly rate is $90
.
Section 4: Education / Experience / Professionalism
4.1 What is your employment status?
4.2 How long have you been a member of the Paralegal Division?
Median years as a member of the Paralegal Division is 5.9 years
4.3 Do you agree with the establishment of specific criteria for the use
of the title "paralegal"?
Section 5: Benefit Package
5.1 How many sick/personal days do you receive per year?
Median number of sick/personal days per year is 7.7
5.2 How many vacation days do you receive per year?
Median number of vacation days per year is 12.3
5.3 How many paid holidays does your employer offer per year?
Median number of paid holidays per year is 7.8
5.4 List the insurance benefits provided by your employer. (Check all that
apply.)
5.5 List the retirement or pension plans provided by your employer. (Check
all that apply.)
Section 6: Professional Benefits
6.1 Does your employer provide paid CLE?
6.2 If your employer provides paid CLE, how many hours per year?
Median number of paid CLE hours per year is 11.2
Section 7: Miscellaneous
Personal information: Sex
Personal information: Age
Median age is 46 years
Notes
Some percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. For questions in which
respondents were allowed more than one answer, percentages may not sum to 100
percent.
Median value estimates in this report are calculated from grouped data. Care
should be taken when interpreting results for cases in which the number of
people who responded is less than 5.
Prepared by the Department of Research and Analysis, State Bar of Texas.
For more information, contact:
State Bar of Texas
Department of Research and Analysis
P.O. Box 12487
Austin, TX 78711-2487
(800)204-2222 ext. 2024
research@texasbar.com
http://www.texasbar.com/research
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