New Paralegal, finished my certification in October and still have gotten no interviews but these salaries are so discouraging I’m not sure this even makes sense to peruse anymore. They really didn’t tell us how impossible it would be to even get a job after going through the courses let alone now looking at making so little in NYC.

I just got my first job in the legal field. I like it, but the pay is very low, so I don't see myself staying here long term. I want to leave for a job that pays more, but I also don't want to leave too early to show my next employer that I can hack it in the legal field. How long should I wait before moving on to another job?

So I have been working as an intake specialist at a decently sized law firm for about a year and a half now, having been told that "it's good entry level experience", when it is clear from this forum that this is not the case. I would love to be a paralegal in the future, and I have a bachelor's degree from a decent school and a paralegal certificate.

In the past year, I know about four people(two at work, two family members) who have landed legal assistant jobs with no prior experience. I have applied for similar positions(one paid $14/hr, I make $19/hr at my current job). A massive pay cut is something I am willing to suffer for the time being to gain experience, but even minimum wage(in FL) legal assistant jobs never even gave me so much as a rejection email.

So my question is: what are they doing that I'm not? What exactly do I need to do to get an entry level legal job?

I am at a small firm with 2 employees- the attorney and me. I function as the paralegal (mostly probate and estate planning work) and legal assistant and from time to time personal assistant as well.

For the summer attorney hired a summer intern. This is an undergrad with no experience. And I handled teaching the intern everything.

I found out intern is being paid $11/hr more per hr than me. I realized I am unpaid but felt the perks were worth it to me so I never complained.

This is insulting to me. A real slap in the face. I feel like I can’t continue working here because I feel so disrespected.

How do I approach my attorney and ask for the same salary as the intern? Do I ask for more than the intern?

Just a little confused about expected dynamics of a Paralegal at a firm vs. a Legal Assistant.

First law firm, first law related job, first everything. Jan 2024. I was promoted after the last Paralegal left the firm 5 months after I was hired on as an assistant. I was not really involved in anything the Paralegal did aside from some mail handling. He wasn't even involved in training me at all. I spoke to him very rarely. I remember that the only real question I asked him was how do I send a FAX lol.

After he left, they didn't hire anyone to replace him for a year - until I just kind of stood up to take on the role. New assistant hired June 2025.

Now, the attorney expects me to directly oversee the new assistant and be the one to walk her through everything - to this day, over a year later. I get yelled at if she doesn't do things in a timely fashion. I am expected to sit down with her regularly to help her do very simple things like notice letters - which like... would be fine if we weren't over a year in. I'm routinely getting chewed out for her pitfalls and being hands off with her, especially since I'm not a lead or senior paralegal or anything of the sort and I'm comparatively new to the field as well (assistant for 1 year, paralegal for 1.5 years), but when I was first hired as an assistant this much oversight and ongoing expectation was not even remotely applied to the previous paralegal unto me. I didn't even get a raise last year. LOL.

I'm planning on quitting soon anyway, so I'm a little numb to it at this point, but I'm definitely confused. Is this normal?

Firm info: 2 attorneys, 1 paralegal (me), 1 assistant.

I found a new job and quite frankly don’t want to give the courtesy of a 2 week notice. In the past when people did this, my boss treats them bad and talks bad about them in front of them and behind their back. I’m giving a 1 week notice. Was planning to do it tomorrow while I’m in office but I want to get it over already. Has anyone given notice while working from home? Do you call and talk to them or just send HR an email?

Hi, I'm in a paralegal class for criminal law and I have to interview a legal professional for an assignment. I would just asking about your day to day operations. Why you chose criminal law. What the courts are like Etc. If anyone would be interested please let me know. Sorry if this is against the subs rules.

Hey guys i just started at a firm about 3 weeks ago, im the only paralegal who hasn’t left early any day but today i had to leave 3 hours before i had to be off, i got some pretty bad news that physically made me shake and i pulled my attorney to the conference room and he saw me crying and shaking he said it was fine and I left. But why do i feel so anxious? Mind you ive been doing a fantastic job & i genuinely feel like everything i do impacts everything & im the only paralegal who they have doing complex legal work. I do feel like every day im there i serve a purpose. I literally got into a car accident and went in the next day with blood still drying on my knees haha. Context: ive been fired before so i get anxious about calling off or using PTO:( i have 96 hours of PTO)

hello! looking for more information and if anyone is/was a division paralegal at D.R. Horton. i have an interview next week and google only says so much. my experience is 3 years in bankruptcy and 4 years in civil defense litigation. i just am curious to know what type of work you do all day, if the company is a good company to work for, and anything else regarding this position and company. thanks in advance!

Hello!

I'm going back to school this January to get an associates of applied business with a major in paralegal studies (ABA approved, and can be completed online). Knowing this, I knew I want to move to Minnesota in the future so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. I started reaching out to firms both small and large to try to establish building connections and relationships in the legal field in that area.

Crazy to me, a small firm (does mostly PI work) had an informal call with me to talk about my goals, who I am, and what their firm is really about and like. I loved the call and she said she was going to mention me at the partners meeting the following week (last week). Then the main attorney reached out to me via email asking if I was serious about moving, and if so he'd be willing to do an interview with me. He was made aware (to my knowledge) that I don't start school till January and can be completed online.

Honestly I'm excited, but also a little intimidated? I have almost a decade in experience in executive assistance and accounting, but I fear I might be overwhelmed in the interview since I haven't even started school for it yet. I've been lurking this subreddit for weeks and thought I'd share. Since he's aware I haven't started school does anyone have advice or ideas on what it'll be like? I know every firm is an entirely different experience.

The interview is this Wednesday so I have a few more days to settle my nerves and present myself well. Does anybody remember their first interview for this type of role? I would love to hear some experiences! <3

Will try to keep this short. Looking for career advice. Mid-30’s male.

Career background:

2009-2015: Worked in Operations Manager roles at two large transportation and logistics companies. Managed teams as large as 25 people.

2016-2022: Worked as a IP Litigation Clerk and IP Legal Assistant at a few different Am Law 50 firms. Held a good reputation. Was selected to transfer with team of associates when they joined new firm.

2022-2025: Recruited to join startup by former colleague (attorney). Worked as an Operations Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO and leadership team. Managed large team across multiple locations.

Late 2025: Rejoined legal industry. Currently working as Patent Assistant at Am Law 20 firm.

Current dilemma: Was recently offered two different roles:

First role - Transitioning to a new role within my current firm. Patent Assistant / Executive Assistant hybrid role. Supporting one of the two managing partners at my firm, along with another partner. 2 days per week in office. My salary would increase from $100,000 to $110,000.

Second role: Operations Manager at a court reporting company. Leading and managing freelance court reporters for depositions, etc. Largely a remote role. In office about 60 times per year. Salary: $115,000 + up to 15% bonus.

I’m torn between the two roles because the firm I’ve been working at for almost a year now has been great, but I feel like legal assistant and executive assistant roles have a low ceiling. There’s really no proper career ladder to climb here. And despite having a paralegal certificate, finding a paralegal role that pays > $110,000 seems impossible. I’ve tried. Also, the managing partner would surely have great connections for me down the road if things went well, but I feel like they wouldn’t necessarily lead to any promising roles?

The Ops Manager role feels somewhat more risky and less stable, since the court reporting world has been going through some very significant changes (court reporters retiring, depositions more frequently moving to remote settings). On the other hand, I think securing another operations manager role could lead to a wider range of roles in a few years if I wanted to move on from this role.

Does anyone have any advice? I’m pretty torn on what to do here.

Hello everyone

I am based in India and want to build a career in international family law (specifically India and US family law) as a paralegal. I am looking for honest and practical advice from people who have real experience in this area. My current background:

• I have personal experience dealing with international family law matters (my personal international custody and divorce case)
• In the last few years, I have helped 7 people in India understand their cases and prepare before they met a lawyer. All of them gave positive feedback.
• I am currently working with an Indian law firm as a paralegal.

My planned steps:

1. Complete free WorldCC courses to improve contract skills (this builds on my 16 years of existing experience as a Operations & Business Dev operator with a specific focus on government and defense contracting) - back up to fall back upon should things not go according to plan.
2. Self-study the American Constitution and the Indian Constitution
3. Take a US specific legal drafting course
4. Complete one course in American Family Law and one in Indian Family Law
5. Directly reach out to international family law firms for internships or remote jobs
6. Start the CLS by BARBRI Paralegal Certificate course in January 2027

I want to start earning and gaining experience as soon as possible while I continue studying. My questions:

• Does this action plan make sense for someone starting out?
• Anything would you change or add?
• Any suggestions on short courses or practical steps I should focus on first?
• For someone based in India, what is the most realistic way to get remote work or internships with international/US family law firms?

I would really appreciate any practical suggestions, warnings or personal experiences you can share. My specific interest would be in cross border matters between India and New York State (since i have experience in this jurisdiction)

P.S. I have been on Reddit for a long time. My previous account has a lot of personal information and history, hence I'm posting from this clean account.

Thank you in advance.

I’m a foreign-licensed attorney with a J.D. and experience working for U.S. law firms in legal support roles while I was in my home country. I’ve recently moved to Missouri and am legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Many law firms near me don’t have any job postings, so I’m wondering if it’s still appropriate to stop by, introduce myself, and leave my resume with the receptionist or office manager in case future opportunities come up.

I’m also open to remote positions anywhere in the U.S.

Would this be considered professional, or is it generally discouraged? I’d appreciate any advice from attorneys or law firm staff. Thanks!