Average paralegal salaries (2025)

Research by the National Association of Licensed Paralegals suggested that in 2025, the average starting salary for entry level paralegals is £19k - £22k, and £28k for graduate paralegals. Senior paralegals can then earn £35k and upwards, with there being no formal cap on earnings. 

There may also be opportunities to earn higher rates for working overtime, especially if working weekends and on bank holidays, whilst paralegals who set up their own businesses and attract their own clients can earn a lot more.

Paralegals may also be eligible for solid benefits packages, including access to healthcare schemes, equipment grants, wellbeing funds and so on.

In addition, some law firms and legal teams offer bonuses, especially if they do have billable hours targets or other commercial benchmarks to hit, whilst others might offer rewards for hard work.

However, this all varies based on the type of firm and the location. For example, working in the London office of an international City firm will likely pay a lot more than working at a high street firm outside of a major City. 

Although paralegal salaries are generally lower than trainee salaries, keep in mind that paralegals who qualify via the apprenticeship route, or join straight from school, won’t have student debt. In addition, working outside a major city can involve a far lower cost of living, which might more than make up for a lower salary.

However, in the longer term, paralegals tend to earn less than lawyers who qualify as solicitors, progress up the associate ladder, and join the partnership structure. There also tends to be less transparency around paralegal pay and a less structured approach to remuneration increases compared to solicitors, in part because there seems to be less competition between firms to attract paralegals (meaning less pressure to increase pay).

It may also be frustrating at times if there are instances where a paralegal is carrying out the same work as a trainee, but earning less, purely because of their job title. However, a better work/life balance might mean paralegals earn more per hour on average, even if they earn less overall.

Working overtime

Looking at overtime: there may well be times where urgent matters come up and help is expected outside of fixed working hours, especially at larger firms. However, the paralegals we interviewed for this course very rarely – if ever – were expected to work overtime – even at international City firms – and on the rare occasion that overtime is required, it is genuinely appreciated.

Moreover, working overtime can result in additional pay for paralegals, which isn’t generally the case for trainees. From my personal experience, paralegals I’ve previously worked with could choose whether or not to work overtime, and if they did, were well paid for it.