KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals Fall/Winter 2013.2 | Page 11

getting along with the partner in charge of the project. Offer to assist if the project is running into difficulties. Being a team player is a skill that is valued
by employers. (Thanks to Stephanie Gillespie at Blue
Cross Blue Shield of NC and Jennifer Watford at Young
Moore Henderson for sharing their best tips.)

According to the survey, the greatest salary disparity showed up for those paralegals with 5-7
years of experience. Those employed as corporate
paralegals earned an average of $82,000, significantly more than their counterparts working in
law firms who averaged $40,567.

Paralegal salaries and raises

Not surprising, the highest salaries were paid
at the firms who employed the most people. Sole
practitioners paid an average of $39,052 while
firms with more than 100 attorneys paid an average of $85,533.

A recent salary survey showed salaries rose slightly
in 2012 with an average salary increase of 2.4 percent.
Law firm paralegals earned an average of $52,503
and in-house paralegals earned $63,664. Government
salaries averaged $59,840.

Anna Cates Williams, executive director of the Raleigh office of Special Counsel, notes that the average salary raises offered in 2012 ranged between
2.5 – 3.3 percent. About 30 percent of
paralegals earned bonuses and the average bonuses were in the $1,500 and $3,000 range. Williams notes that while the Paralegal Today survey
showed higher salaries for in-house paralegals,
that is not always the cas