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NPCER: Realistic wage expectation

So...I am filling in this week for a legal secretary in a small (3 lawyers) criminal defense firm.  They do appointed work, but also do a lot of retained work and one is an appelate attorney.  I mostly answered the phone, but also did some letters, changes to motions, etc.  

What do you all feel is fair for payment for one week (40 hours)?   

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Re: NPCER: Realistic wage expectation

  • yeah, that was kind of my thought, too....guess I should have negotiated up front.  :-/
    image
    You know how we do
  • It depends on area I guess but I would think something like that would be around what pp said.
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  • image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr
    :::shocked face::: no way!  more like $25/hr!  I've done legal temp work before (in fact, I'm doing some now) and the going rate here is $20-$30/hour.
    image
    Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
  • imageMrsAxilla:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr
    :::shocked face::: no way!  more like $25/hr!  I've done legal temp work before (in fact, I'm doing some now) and the going rate here is $20-$30/hour.

    well, I didn't do much more than answer the phone, type some letters, and did one small research thing...but, I'm feeling on the butthurt side.   

    image
    You know how we do
  • imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

  • image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

    well, since it wasn't for a paralegal, I wasn't expecting paralegal pay.  I realize it was just a one week temp thing, and some money is better than zero money, but ... well, let's just say I'm feeling a little underpaid.   

    image
    You know how we do
  • imageswimbikepuke:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

    Yikes.  I don't really know what the going rate for contract attorneys is around here.  For some reason, I thought it was as high as $50/hr, but that's definitely at some of the big firms, no at some little 3 person firm.   

    Only candidates doing actual substantive specialized contract work are getting those types of rates. Substantive corp/commercial lit is less than $50, IP and other specialized areas can basically write their own ticket

  • imagegpointewife:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

    well, since it wasn't for a paralegal, I wasn't expecting paralegal pay.  I realize it was just a one week temp thing, and some money is better than zero money, but ... well, let's just say I'm feeling a little underpaid.   

    don't be. I have licensed attorneys willing to do paralegal work for $13/hr

  • image3.27.04_Helper:
    imagegpointewife:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

    well, since it wasn't for a paralegal, I wasn't expecting paralegal pay.  I realize it was just a one week temp thing, and some money is better than zero money, but ... well, let's just say I'm feeling a little underpaid.   

    don't be. I have licensed attorneys willing to do paralegal work for $13/hr

    well, except I didn't get $10-12/hr.... 

    image
    You know how we do
  • imageswimbikepuke:
    image3.27.04_Helper:

    don't be. I have licensed attorneys willing to do paralegal work for $13/hr

    I'm about the veer this completely off topic, but I think you are a legal recruiter, yes?  So I have a question.  I would eventually like to get into teaching, but not law school teaching because I really hated law school and don't want to have anything to do with those people.  I would really like to head up a pre-law program at an undergraduate institution.  How do I go about putting together a resume for this?  I take it I have to start publishing.  Do I need and LLM?  Are those kinds of jobs completely network-driven or how does that happen.

    I keep checking the Chronicle of Higher Education and there's nothing at the undergraduate level.  Sometimes a community college posting will pop up for something like criminal justice or "legal studies", but they often say, "JDs need not apply," which doesn't make me think a whole lot of the Community College system but that's a thread for another day, I guess.

     

    I would talk to counselors at undergrad institutions and see what they say. It seems like a lot of those jobs require a degree in high ed administration.  

  • imageswimbikepuke:
    imagegpointewife:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    imagegpointewife:
    image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:

    image3.27.04_Helper:
    $10-12/hr

    Agree.  My first thought was $12.00.

    I would think $25/hr for an official paralegal, but if the title is legal secretary for a very small firm, I think $12.00 is pretty much market rate.  

    In my area paralegal temp jobs are as low as $12/hr and most are maxing around $18 depending on skill required.

    contract attorney jobs are anywhere from $19/hr to $35+ depending if it is doc review or more substantive.

    well, since it wasn't for a paralegal, I wasn't expecting paralegal pay.  I realize it was just a one week temp thing, and some money is better than zero money, but ... well, let's just say I'm feeling a little underpaid.   

    don't be. I have licensed attorneys willing to do paralegal work for $13/hr

    well, except I didn't get $10-12/hr.... 

    Oh.  Now, that's not right.  A legal secretary should make more than a babysitter.

     

    GP-I'd be pissed. I might go back to them and ask if there was a mistake... but I've spokend to paralegals in MI who want to relocate and they make crap. Also I regularly see ads in this area for small firms offering to pay $10/hr for paralegal work.  

  • image3.27.04_Helper:
    imageswimbikepuke:
    image3.27.04_Helper:

    don't be. I have licensed attorneys willing to do paralegal work for $13/hr

    I'm about the veer this completely off topic, but I think you are a legal recruiter, yes?  So I have a question.  I would eventually like to get into teaching, but not law school teaching because I really hated law school and don't want to have anything to do with those people.  I would really like to head up a pre-law program at an undergraduate institution.  How do I go about putting together a resume for this?  I take it I have to start publishing.  Do I need and LLM?  Are those kinds of jobs completely network-driven or how does that happen.

    I keep checking the Chronicle of Higher Education and there's nothing at the undergraduate level.  Sometimes a community college posting will pop up for something like criminal justice or "legal studies", but they often say, "JDs need not apply," which doesn't make me think a whole lot of the Community College system but that's a thread for another day, I guess.

     

    I would talk to counselors at undergrad institutions and see what they say. It seems like a lot of those jobs require a degree in high ed administration.  

    :::butting in:::

    You may want to talk to someone at the school(s) you're interested in and see about getting an Adjunct position.  That will get your foot in the door and something to put on your CV (higher ed uses CVs instead of resumes).  Maybe even get a gig as a guest lecturer.

    image
    Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
  • and to add insult to injury, the person I'm subbing for really shouldn't leave the monthly expenses for me to file if she doesn't want me to find out she makes more than double what I got paid....she wrote the check on the last day before her vacation.  

    I may just drink this measly check away, lol! 

    image
    You know how we do
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