Paralegal Specialist - Federal Salaries of 2018
Pay Rates for "Paralegal Specialist"
How much does a Paralegal Specialist in the federal government get paid? $82,456.33* *Based on the 2018 average.Paralegal Specialist was the 54th most popular job in the U.S. Government in 2018, with 5,303 employed. The most common payscale was the general schedule payscale.
In 2018, the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys and the Office of U.s Attorneys hired the most employees titled Paralegal Specialist, with an average salary of $80,216.
Government Paralegal Specialist jobs are classified under the General Schedule (GS) payscale. The minimum paygrade for a Paralegal Specialist job is GS-4, and the highest paygrade that can be attained within this job series is GS-15. Remember that the starting and maximum yearly pay listed above reflect base pay only - your actual salary will be higher based on the Locality Pay Adjustment for the area in which you work.
This occupation includes positions not requiring professional legal competence which involve various legal assistance duties, of a type not classifiable in some other occupation in the Legal and Kindred Group, in connection with functions such as hearings, appeals, litigation, or advisory services. The specialists analyze the legal impact of legislative developments and administrative and judicial decisions, opinions, determinations, and rulings on agency programs; conduct research for the preparation of legal opinions on matters of interest to the agency; perform substantive legal analysis of requests for information under the provisions of various acts; or other similar legal support functions which require discretion and independent judgment in the application of a specialized knowledge of laws, precedent decisions, regulations, agency policies and practices, and judicial or administrative proceedings. Such knowledge is less than that represented by graduation from a recognized law school, and may have been gained from formalized, professionally instructed agency or educational institution training or from professionally supervised on-the-job training. While the paramount knowledge requirements of this occupation are legal, some positions also require a practical knowledge of subject matter areas related to the agency's substantive programs.
Administrative and Management positions have a wide range of responsibilities. Management does not refer specifically to supervisors who directly manage organizations or teams. Rather jobs in this category deal with managing systems or processes such as finances, security systems, training programs, or marketing. For employees in this job category, promotions are typically given 2 grade increments at a time until GS-12 is reached.
Agencies that have hired a Paralegal Specialist
Paralegal Specialist Pay Distribution
The average pay for a Paralegal Specialist is $82,456.33. The highest paid Paralegal Specialist made $173,023 in 2018.
Common Paralegal Specialist Payscales
Payscale | Number of Paralegal Specialist Employees |
---|---|
GS - General Schedule | 5,115 |
SK - Sec Emp Formerly Under Gs, Gm, And Ez | 87 |
CG - Corporate Graded | 36 |
CN - Bur Of (cfpb) An Indep Ag Within Frs | 24 |
CT - Commodity Futures Trading Commission Pos | 12 |
NQ - Nnsa Professional, Technical, And Admin | 4 |
SV - Trans Security Admin Emp Other Than Exec | 4 |
IC - Federal Emergency Management Agency Use | 3 |
GG - Grades Similar To General Schedule | 3 |
GL - Gs Emp Grades 3-10 Paid Leo Special Rate | 3 |
IR - Irs Broadband Class And Pay System Pos | 3 |
ZA - Administrative | 2 |
SL - Senior Level Positions | 2 |
AD - Administratively Determined Rates, Not E | 1 |
MC - Emp Of Millennium Challenge Corporation | 1 |
CU - Credit Union Employees | 1 |
NB - Ofc Of Comptroller Of The Currency Only | 1 |
EL - Non-executive Positions At Fhfa | 1 |
Starting Paygrade: | $26,233.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-4, Step 1 |
Maximum Paygrade: | $138,572.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-15, Step 10 |
Category: | Administrative and Management |
Occupation Family: | 0900 LEGAL AND KINDRED GROUP |
Other Jobs at the GS-4 Paygrade
GS-4 is the starting paygrade for Paralegal Specialist jobs. Here are some other Federal Government jobs that can be held by employees at the GS-4 paygrade.
Occupation | Occupation Category | Starting Paygrade | Maximum Paygrade |
---|---|---|---|
Illustrating | Administrative and Management | GS-4 | GS-15 |
Industrial Property Management | Administrative and Management | GS-4 | GS-15 |
Military Pay | Clerical and Administrative Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant | Clerical and Administrative Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
General Legal and Kindred Administration | Administrative and Management | GS-4 | GS-15 |
Average Paralegal Specialist Pay Trend from 2004 to 2018
In 2004, the average pay for a Paralegal Specialist was $63,202. Since then, the average pay has increased to $82,456 in 2018.
Data Sources
The information provided on these pages is sourced from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI)
dataset. Postal Service data is managed exclusively by the USPS
. All information is displayed unmodified and as provided by the source agency.
Federal employee salaries are public information under open government laws (5 U.S.C. § 552). FederalPay provides this data in the interest of government transparency — employee data may not be used for commercial soliciting or vending of any kind. Learn more about the FederalPay Employees Dataset here.
The series code of this occupation is 0950
.