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Lawyer or Paralegal

Which is Right for You?
Apr 2, 2023

Table of Contents

  1. What is a lawyer
  2. What is a paralegal
  3. How are lawyers and paralegals similar
  4. How are lawyers and paralegals different
  5. Let's talk money
  6. Related Articles

What is a lawyer?

A lawyer (or attorney/counsel) is professionally licensed to advise and represent others in legal matters. Lawyers have studied the law—at law school in most scenarios—and have been admitted to the State Bar Association where they practice. Typically (but definitely not always), lawyers attend a 3-year law school after having completed a bachelor’s degree for a total of at least 7-years of post-high school schooling. 

What is a paralegal?

A paralegal is professionally trained to assist lawyers and cannot give legal advice or represent others. Instead, a paralegal has to work under a licensed attorney. In most states there is no specific schooling requirement, but you are unlikely to get a paralegal job without at least an Associate’s degree, ideally in a field such as paralegal studies. Most employers prefer, or even require, applicants to have a Bachelor’s degree though the specific degree matters less. 

How are lawyers and paralegals similar?

Lawyers and paralegals work in the same field, often work closely together, and even work on the same cases and problems. Both Lawyers and Paralegals have to have strong communication, interpersonal, organizational, and research skills. 

How are lawyers and paralegals different?  

The biggest three differences are training, responsibility, and income. In order to really help you make the decision if you should become a lawyer or a paralegal and learn about each as careers, we can dive more into those three differences. 

First, the training/schooling required to do the job. Except in a few states, lawyers have to go to law school, and they need a bachelor’s degree to do so. This means paying for college and then paying for law school. On the other hand, Paralegals often have a Bachelor’s degree and only need an Associate’s degree. 

Next, lawyers have more responsibility than paralegals. Paralegals always work under lawyers and do not represent clients directly. This means that only lawyers represent people in court, so if you will never see a paralegal speaking on someone’s behalf in front of a judge.

Finally, earning potential. Highly paid lawyers make more than highly paid paralegals. Also, the average lawyer makes more than the average paralegal. However, there are plenty of paralegals that make more than plenty of lawyers, and that is before you even consider the fact that lawyers have to pay for law school. 

Let’s talk money

The question we get the most is about who makes more money, lawyers or paralegals, so I will expand a little on that. The short answer is that overall lawyers make more money than paralegals. A slightly more thorough answer is that many paralegals make more money than private sector and public service attorneys. 

You might be asking yourself: “But how? Lawyers make a TON of money.” Unfortunately, this just isn’t true. Shows like Suits and jokes about lawyers have created this skewed perception that everyone who goes to law school makes hundreds of thousands of dollars as soon as they graduate. In reality it is only a small fraction of law school graduates who make that kind of money. Also, lawyers have to go to law school and pay for it! This means that on average someone is out of work for 3 years when they are in school plus they (probably) have to borrow money to go which has to be paid back. AND this assumes that they pass the bar and get a job, which is a pretty low percentage of graduates at many schools. 

In order to get a little more detailed, let’s compare the decision for someone who already has a bachelor’s degree and is deciding between becoming a paralegal or going to law school.  

For the example we will use the nationally average paralegal income, from paralegal411, and compare that to the median person who goes to a lowly ranked, but still ABA accredited, law school. For this example we will use Campbell University. 

So what is the outcome? The average paralegal makes $1.2M over 20 years of working while a median student from a lowly ranked law school makes $1.4M. There is some math and an explanation at the bottom of this article if you are interested. 

So the Lawyer does make more money, but not that much over the course of 20 years, AND the paralegal had made more total money all the way up to year 15 when you subtract out debt payments. 

Money isn’t everything. This comparison is not meant to push you towards being a paralegal. Instead, it is simply there to compare the options, and to question the assumption that many Americans have that going to any law school means you are going to be living like Harvey Specter from Suits, and therefore that it is always the best choice. 

For both paths we assume that they get a 5% raise every year which aligns with the data available. We assume that the median lawyer passes the bar (even though only 90% did in 2021), we assume that the person finds a job as a lawyer (even though only 35% did in 2021), and we assume that the lawyer took out loans (like 82% of the grads do), that they have the average amount of debt, and that they have federal loans so it is about a 6% interest rate.

Related Articles

  1. How Much do Lawyers Make?
  2. Is Law School Worth It?
  3. How Do I Pay For Law School?
  4. How do I apply to Law School?
Windsor MIT '22, Harvard College Advisor

I am the half of LSD that didn't take the LSAT, or go to law school (Sorry about that). But I did go to MIT business school while surrounded by law students and lawyers, so I am somewhat qualified to talk about the intricacies of law school apps and finances.

Windsor (the dog) didn't write this but he WAS a Resident Tutor and career advisor at Harvard College with me, so deserves some credit.

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General chat about the legal profession.
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13:51
I do think people might be using the term unicorn PI too liberally
13:51
Used to mean career outcomes that were pretty much only possible out of HYS and maybe NYU
Some consider Unicorn PI to include things like Asst US Attorney. In that case, you can achieve that by going anywhere that will allow you sit for the bar so long as your grades are strong and your internships and/or clerkships align.
16:34
Chowie go to Berk cause that's probably where I end up
16:34
But in all seriousness I would take Miami. If you're 100% committed to PI I don't think the .1% outcome that may be possible from Berk is worth taking on insane debt
has anyone heard back on a saturday or sunday?
and do we think any school would send out decisions on monday (since its presidents day)
techsplitter
19:01
no
20:10
take full ride 100%
20:11
@ChowieBean: ^
20:47
@LeanDeadCloud: HR works m-thu 10-2
J-Reuben-Clark-Law
11:50
Good for UT Austin people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWTt77PPg4Q
J-Reuben-Clark-Law
17:18
"The man of talent is like a marksman who hits a mark others cannot hit; the man of genius is like a marksman who hits a mark they cannot even see to."
omelette
8:21
today's gonna be quiet asf just like this past weekend
omelette
8:25
some schools are open today tho apparently like columbia so some decisions might be imminent
UGA🫵🏻
Just got my acceptance to NCCU last week + I did my interview with Elon (not too exciting they give every applicant one).
Also received rejections from UNebraska and Wake
omelette
10:04
congrats on NCCU!
BatmanBeyond
11:51
I got waitlisted at an in-state school above both medians. The whole idea was that it's a cheaper, accessible option than my sole A. This cycle is brutal.
BatmanBeyond
11:52
Not even motivated to write a LOCI, but even if I get in, should I expect no scholarships?
omelette
11:52
you can still get schollies off the waitlist but maybe not a full ride yk
BluePacedCephalopod
11:56
sounds like yield protection
BluePacedCephalopod
11:56
fwiw i got put on then taken off my safety's WL in about a month and then got a 75% scholly
BatmanBeyond
12:18
@BluePacedCephalopod: did you write a LOCI?
BluePacedCephalopod
12:18
no they reached out for an interview
12:28
has UVA done any admit in the past few days?
omelette
13:18
yes 2/13 and 2/14, they wouldnt release on a weekend
thecableguy7
15:06
UT Austin today?
J-Reuben-Clark-Law
15:16
More like UTI Austin am I right ladies.
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