Being a paralegal is an exciting and rewarding career choice! The position is one that acts as an assistant to the attorney or law firm and provides additional support, investigation, and preparatory work throughout a case. Additional roles include meeting with clients, drafting legal documents, and even attending court with the attorney, assisting him during the trial period. A paralegal does not require a law degree or completion of the bar exam, but rather a bachelor’s degree or diploma that certifies the person as a paralegal. Due to the different types of law practiced, a paralegal may choose to work in a variety of fields, from real estate, corporate, or family law, to criminal justice, and everything in between. And just like the variation in positions, just like the range of salaries available to the paralegal.
The low salary: Country scales vary across the country and depend not only on education or skill level, but also on the geographic location of the job opportunity. The West Coast continues to offer a higher hourly wage due to the rising cost of living. The typical lower end of the scale for the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia was between $15-16 to start, apart from Edmonton, which considered the lower end of the salary to be between around $20. The rest of the country shared an hourly wage. similar between $12 and $15, with the lowest being Montreal, which fell well below the rest at just over $10 an hour.
The Average Salary: Once again, the western provinces showed a marked increase in the average hourly rate, which ranges between $22 and 24, compared to their eastern counterparts, which are between $16 and 18. Ontario fell firmly in the middle, the GTA and Ottawa came in at $21 and Ontario’s westernmost cities just under $20. Quebec’s average fell to just under $17 an hour.
The high end: With experience and higher education, along with the success or prominence of the operation the paralegal was associated with, came salary increases and national highs. Edmonton again came out on top at $38 an hour and Quebec overcame a stark difference of ten dollars at $28. Between the West Coast and GTA at $30, along with the Prairies and East Coast at $25.
Salary.com helps provide Canadians with realistic salary expectations comparable to jobs in their area along with national averages. Paralegal positions qualify in terms of education and experience in categories and corresponding average annual salaries ranging from Paralegal I ($47,768), Paralegal II ($55,735), Paralegal III ($64,207), Paralegal IV ($71,979) Paralegal Supervisor ($70,158) and Paralegal Manager ($89,396).
