Paralegal Blog

Representatives from Center for Advanced Legal Studies attended the 31st Annual Career & Education Day on Saturday, February 18, 2017. The event was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center and was sponsored by Houston Hispanic Forum. 

Earlier this month, I wrote an article discussing the demand for paralegals in the U.S. as well as their growing salaries. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones to notice the steady trend in paralegal and legal assistant jobs across the United States.

Since publishing our last article looking at the statistics of income and education for paralegals across the US, the data has changed slightly. In those four years, the average income for paralegals has risen, the demand for paralegals and legal assistants has remained steady, and the education paralegals are receiving has improved.

Originally in our 2012 article, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had reported salary ranges for paralegals between $29,000 and $75,000 per year, with the median annual salary at right around $49,700. Today, the BLS reports that those salaries have risen, and the salary range for paralegals across the US is now $30,670 to $79,010. The BLS also reported that the average annual salary for paralegals has risen to about $52,390 per year.¹

Doyle R. Happe
Co-founder and Director
Center for Advanced Legal Studies

One of the requirements of attending and graduating from an ABA approved paralegal program is that you must complete a minimum of 10 semester hours on campus. Realistically, that means you must live close enough so you can drive back and forth.

But not always… One of our students flew back and forth from Atlanta to attend class on campus, another drove from Texarkana, an easy 5½ hour one way trip, several others traveled from Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, etc. to attend weekend classes on our campus in Houston to comply with this 10 semester hour requirement.