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The ABA Journal recently reported compensation for paralegals is on the rise with managerial positions in law firms earning just under $80 per hour. The average hourly rate earned however, was substantially less, running between $34 and $37 per hour. According to the data, paralegals at law firms tend to earn slightly more than those working for corporate legal departments.
While the publicly available reports on the study make no mention as to the causes, in our perusing of legal content, we stumbled on a SlideShare presentation by attorney John N. Zarian of the law firm Parsons Behle & Latimer that may provide some insight.
The presentation titled New Paradigms and Legal Industry Trends Affecting Paralegals is dated February 20, 2014 and indicates it was created of the Idaho Association of Paralegals. The presentation is embedded nearby.
9 Trends that Impact Paralegals
In the presentation Mr. Zarian identifies nine key trends that are effectively shaping, and perhaps creating new opportunities, for paralegals. While he provides greater detail in the presentation on each trend, the nine identified are:
1. Technology & Software. Also see: Paralegal viewpoint on Law School and Legal Tech
2. E-Discovery.
3. Social Networking.
4. Changing Law Firms. Also see: 4 Ways Tech is Changing Small Law
5. Virtual Law Firms. Also see: Virtues of Virtual Law with Stacey L. Romberg
6. Globalization & Outsourcing.
7. Alternative Billing Models. Also see: 10 Authentic Tips for implementing AFAs in Legal Billing
8. New/Growing Practice Areas. Also see: The Latent Market for Legal Services
9. Changing Work Force. Also see: Law2023: Seven Technology Opportunities for the Future of
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What trends would you add? We’d love to hear from the paralegal community.
Photo Credit: Flickr via Creative Commons; CC 2.0
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