2010 New Orleans Paralegal Association Salary Survey

New Orleans Paralegal Association

2010 Salary and Benefits Survey of

Greater New Orleans Area Paralegals

The 2010 Salary and Benefits Survey was a great success!  Of the 74 people who signed up to take the survey, 71 paralegals completed it.  For our membership, that’s about 75% participation rate and that’s excellent. 

Let’s start with education levels:  51% of respondents have at least a Bachelor’s degree and 68% have earned their paralegal certificate.  This confirms that education is a valued commodity in New Orleans, with 42% of respondents telling us that their employer requires either a bachelor’s degree or paralegal certificate. 

Employment:  According to our survey, the New Orleans employment market is soft, with a little over half of respondents saying there was no change in the number of paralegals at their place of employment.  This means there’s not much movement and very little new hiring.  Not good news for paralegals with little or no prior legal experience as 63% of respondents say experience is required for employment. 

Speaking of experience, 39% of respondents have 15+ years experience and 30% have 3-5 years experience.  Here’s the breakdown out of the 70 responses:

This is an opportunity for mentoring between our senior paralegals and those of you who are just beginning your career as a paralegal. Whether you’re looking to expand your knowledge or employment possibilities, you should take advantage of the experience of our members.  NOPA is here for you; if you have any ideas of how to bring these two groups together for networking, please speak up.  I think this one of the most important roles of any organization:  to serve the needs of its members. 

Now let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the survey: salary.  Here’s the breakdown by actual numbers.  With 62 people answering this question, this is where the majority of respondents fell:

The other 16 respondents made below $35,999 (5) or above $56,000 (11). 

Six of the eight total respondents who began work as a paralegal in 2009 with no prior experience, say they earned between $31,000 and $35,999 (at the lowest end of the compensation scale.)

Clearly experience and education counts and the evidence is in the level of compensation reflected in our survey.  If most of the paralegals who responded have 15+ years of experience and if most who responded to the question regarding salary are at the top tier of earnings -- 26 are at $51,000 or above -- then one could deduce that those with the most experience and education make the most money. 

One final set of facts and figures regarding paralegal regulation. NOPA is a member of the National Federation of Paralegal Organizations (“NFPA”), and both NFPA and NOPA strongly support regulation for paralegals. According to NFPA’s Model Plan for Voluntary Paralegal Regulation or Licensure:

“Regulation of Paralegals is defined by NFPA as the process by which a governmental or other entity authorizes general practice in the Paralegal profession and the use of the title “Paralegal" to individuals meeting predetermined qualifications that include: a) an educational requirement; b) the passage of a proficiency based examination; c) continuing legal education; d) adherence to a code of ethics; and e) other criteria as required by the governmental or other entity.”  http://www.paralegals.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=795 

A little over half of respondents believe that paralegals, whether working independently or under the direct supervision of an attorney, should be regulated.  And those agreeing with regulation believe that it should be by the State and/or local bar association and that paralegals should assist in formulating regulation requirements. 

So here, in a nutshell, are some of the facts gleaned from the 2010 Salary and Benefits Survey.  The full report can be found on our website:  www.neworleansparalegals.org  

Thanks to all who participated; we’ll roll out our next survey in fall 2011.

Suzanne Fontan

2010 NOPA President