2015 National Utilization and Compensation Survey Report Section 3 Billing s Based on Data Collected: 4 th Quarter Copyright 2015 Reproduction of this report or portions thereof without express written permission is prohibited. NALA 1516 S. Boston, #200 Tulsa, OK 74119 918-587-6828 www.nala.org
NALA Section 3 Billing s Tables and Charts Table 3.1 Correlations to Billing s of Factors Relating to Respondents Demographics... 1 Table 3.2 Billing by Professional Activity... 1 Table 3.3 Current Billing s... 2 Table 3.4 Hourly Billing by Region - Data... 3 Chart 3.1 (3.4) Hourly Billing by Region,,... 3 Table 3.5 Hourly Billing s by Size of Firm -... 4 Table 3.6 Current Hourly Billing by Total of Years of Experience... 5 Chart 3.2 (3.6) Hourly Billing by Years of Experience and... 6 Table 3.7 Hourly Billing by Years with Current Employer... 7 Table 3.8 Billing by Type of Paralegal Program Completed... 8 The Participants... 8 Copyright 2015 Reproduction of this report or portions thereof without the express written permission of NALA is strictly prohibited. NALA 1516 S. Boston, #200 Tulsa, OK 74119 918.587.6828
Section 3 Page 1 Billing s Section 3. Billing s This section provides the findings of the NALA Utilization and Compensation Survey related to paralegal billing rates. In consideration of this or any data relating to economics keep in mind that mean values are presented. At best, these values only approximate real world situations. Data describing billing vary by many factors, most notably experience, geographic location, and size of firm. Therefore, the numbers are most useful for charting professional trends and changes rather than for direct comparison to any specific situation or person. In this report, the data describing billing rates and compensation is presented in relation to geographic location, educational backgrounds, size of firm, experience and years with current employer. The following table provides information about the relationships of these factors to billing rates. To understand this table, the highest possible relationship expressed in terms of a correlation coefficient is.99, indicating that a relationship between two factors is almost indistinguishable. Likewise, a correlation coefficient of.00 indicates that two factors are not related. A test of statistical significance was not conducted on these correlations. The relationships are not strong, the strongest relationship shown to billing rates was size of firm. Previous surveys have reported years of experience as the strongest relationship. Table 3.1 Correlations to Billing s of Factors Relating to Respondents Demographics Factor Correlation to Billing s Population of City.087 Years on Current Job.127 Years of Experience.156 Size of Firm - Number of Attorneys.198 Size of Firm - Number of Paralegals.048 CP Designation -.017 ACP Advanced Certification.003 The following several tables present the findings related to billing rates without explanation. Data describing findings of previous surveys is included. Table 3.2 Billing by Professional Activity Activity NALA Member Non-Member 124 124 371 221 CP Credential Not Certified 125 122 409 197 ACP Credential Not Specialty Certified 141 124 35 545 About 25% of the respondents reported they are expected to produce a set number of billable hours per week. Most work 40 hour work weeks, and expected to bill 30 hours.
Section 3 Page 2 Billing s Value Table 3.3 Current Billing s General Findings Years - Less than $30 15 2% 2% 2% $31-35 2 0% 1% 1% $36-40 8 1% 0% 0% $41-45 1 0% 0% 1% $46-50 3 0% 1% 2% $51-55 1 0% 1% 1% $56-60 5 1% 1% 1% $61-65 8 1% 1% 4% $66-70 12 2% 2% 2% $71-75 40 6% 9% 9% $76-80 17 3% 3% 2% $81-85 18 3% 4% 4% $86-90 26 4% 7% 6% $91-95 27 4% 4% 5% $96-100 70 11% 10% 10% $101-105 2 0% 1% 1% $106-110 30 5% 3% 4% $111-115 11 2% 1% 1% $116-120 20 2% 1% 1% $121-125 58 9% 11% 9% $126-130 14 2% 2% 2% $131-135 16 3% 3% 3% $136-140 11 2% 3% 3% $141-145 13 2% - $146-150 51 8% 2% 2% $151-155 4 1% 7% 1% $156-160 7 1% 1% 1% $161-165 13 2% 1% 1% $166-170 2 0% 1% 1% $171-175 27 4% 1% 2% $176-180 11 2% 4% 1% $181-185 13 2% 12 1% $186-190 5 1% 7 1% $191-195 8 1% 10 1% $196-200 12 2% 10 1% $201-205 1 0% 1 0
Section 3 Page 3 Billing s Value $206-210 5 1% 4 0 $211-215 6 1% 3 1% Table 3.4 Billing by Region - Data Region Region 1 $111 $132 $103 Region 2 $116 $123 $111 Region 3 $114 $101 $94 Region 4 $128 $115 $113 Region 5 $127 $128 $118 Region 6 $109 $103 $99 Region 7 $133 $130 $135 Chart 3.1 (3.4) Billing by Region, and Compared
Section 3 Page 4 Billing s Firm Size Table 3.5 Hourly Billing s by Size of Firm - Sole $105 49 $107 77 $102 68 2-5 Attorneys $116 177 $108 207 $100 219 6-10 $118 100 $103 113 $103 128 11-15 $119 61 $117 64 $105 94 16-20 $131 31 $129 55 $115 69 21-30 $132 37 $132 76 $130 70 31-35 $133 26 $124 26 $108 26 36-40 $136 14 $126 18 $130 12 41-45 $139 13 $133 8 $144 11 46-50 $125 15 $136 11 $133 24 51-55 $131 13 $124 13 $131 16 56-60 $157 6 $163 7 $124 7 61-65 $129 16 $90 4 $130 3 66-70 $139 9 $100 6 $163 6 71-75 $195 2 $110 5 $116 6 76-80 $172 9 $140 10 $152 4 81-85 $158 6 $182 6 $185 1 86-90 $165 5 $150 3 $158 6 91-95 $230 1 $195 1 $144 4 96-100 $168 7 $157 6 $178 9 More than100 $140 23 $161 32 $152 21
Section 3 Page 5 Billing s Table 3.6 Current Hourly Billing by Total of Years of Experience Years Summary 1 60 7 2 97 12 3 106 15 1-5 Years $99 4 114 18 5 92 16 6 103 17 7 101 14 8 122 20 9 113 18 6-10 Years $112 10 115 27 11 128 11 12 130 13 13 121 19 14 111 16 15 119 18 16 110 20 17 129 14 18 116 24 19 128 11 20 120 24 21 114 11 22 145 21 23 121 13 24 115 14 25 135 33 26 127 8 27 141 13 28 170 18 29 130 10 30 128 38 11-15 Years $121 16-20 Years $119 21-25 Years $129 26-30 Years $139
Section 3 Page 6 Billing s 31 157 14 32 160 11 33 158 14 34 120 10 35 142 14 36 114 6 37 171 7 38 135 6 39 138 2 40 121 8 31-35 Years $149 36-40 years $137 Chart 3.2 Hourly Billing by Years of Experience and
Section 3 Page 7 Billing s Table 3.7 Hourly Billing by Years with Current Employer Years 2008 Summary 1 $60 7 $108 $104 $98 2 $97 12 $117 $104 $105 3 $106 15 $119 $122 $104 1-5 Years $99 4 $114 18 $122 $107 $104 5 $92 16 $123 $112 $94 6 $103 17 $124 $126 $101 7 $101 14 $129 $105 $97 8 $122 20 $113 $116 $106 6-10 Years $112 9 $113 18 $102 $104 $110 10 $115 27 $123 $103 $114 11 $128 11 $118 $123 $99 12 $130 13 $114 $118 $88 13 $121 19 $127 $123 $102 11-15 Years $121 14 $111 16 $132 $105 $95 15 $119 18 $134 $109 $102 16 $110 20 $108 $82 $104 17 $129 14 $114 $77 $89 18 $116 24 $121 $121 $99 16-20 Years $119 19 $128 11 $113 $87 $116 20 $120 24 $119 $128 $97 21 $114 11 $104 $106 $135 22 $145 21 $105 $121 $97 21-25 Years $130 23 $121 13 $102 $97 $86
Section 3 Page 8 Billing s Years 2008 Summary 24 $115 14 $160 $120 $113 25 $135 33 $109 $107 $102 26 $127 8 $111 $115 $75 27 $141 13 $101 $103 $102 28 $170 18 $120 $108 $140 26-30 Years $139 29 $130 10 $168 $105 $90 30 $128 38 $129 $92 $71 Table 3.8 Billing by Type of Paralegal Program Completed Paralegal Program 2008 Undergraduate Certificate $125 86 $115 $114 $109 Post Baccalaureate Certificate $123 87 $126 $117 $106 Associate Degree $122 189 $117 $109 $99 Bachelor Degree $134 59 $117 $105 $96 Other $124 53 $119 $110 $105 None $123 139 $116 $118 $100 The Participants The data is based on analysis of the responses to the National Utilization and Compensation Survey which was collected by a web based survey from mid-november January 15, 2015. There were 1069 responses received and utilized for this report. 5% of the population are males; 95% are females. The average age of survey participants is 44. 64% of the participants are members of NALA; 68% have received the Certified Paralegal credential. Respondents are from a diverse geographical area. Forty-seven states, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia are represented by the population. Among the regions of the United States, the Southeast region was represented by 37% of the respondents; Southwest region was represented by 22%; Plains States was represented by 14%; Far West was represented by 11%; Great Lakes was represented by 8%; Rocky Mountain states were represented by 4%; and New England/Mid East was represented by 4% of the respondents. The average population of the cities represented is 584,865. The regions and states are defined in the table below.
Section 3 Page 9 Billing s The respondents have about 20 years of legal experience; 10 years with the same employer. Most (61%) of respondents work for a private law firm, and, of those, 70% work in firms of 1-15 attorneys; 16% of the respondents work for corporations. With reference to educational backgrounds, 48% of respondents have a bachelor s degree; 30% have an associate s degree. The 2015 National Utilization and Compensation Survey presents information concerning the work environment, practice areas, billing rates and compensation levels of paralegals. Conducted bi-annually since 1986, the survey analysis includes a review of current findings in comparison with findings of previous surveys. Economic data is presented in terms of such factors as size of city, size of firm, educational backgrounds, years of experience, and specialty area of practice. Previous surveys have asked about duties and responsibilities of paralegals. A Job Analysis study of paralegals was conducted by NALA and results release in May. The survey report and analysis appears on the NALA web site. Consult this for detailed information about on-the-job duties and responsibilities of paralegals, and skills needed for their work. The Job Analysis study is conducted every 5-7 years. Region 1 - New England/Mid East Number 42 age 4% Connecticut Maine Massachusetts Maryland New Hampshire New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Rhode Island Region 2 - Great Lakes 82 8% Illinois Indiana Michigan Ohio Wisconsin Region 3 - Plains States 149 14% Iowa Kansas Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota South Dakota Region 4 - Southeast 391 37% Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia West Virginia Region 5 Southwest 238 22% Arizona New Mexico Oklahoma Texas Region 6 - Rocky Mountains 48 4% Colorado Idaho Montana Utah Wyoming Region 7 - Far West 117 11% Alaska California Hawaii Nevada Oregon Washington -End of Section 3 of 4-