Do paralegals work long hours? That depends on a variety of factors, including:
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- the practice area you work in
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- how busy your attorney is
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- how productive you are during the workday (see chart below)
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- the company/organization you go to work for
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- your technology skills that can affect your proficiency and productivity
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- the technology that is available to you to get your work done
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- your attorney’s definition of a work/life balance
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- what your annual billable hour requirement is
Do we have to work long hours?
In this chart below, you can see that if you are doing productive work for 75% of the time you are in the office (or working remotely), and you have 1,700 billable hours per year (or 1,700 hours worth of work to do in a year), it would take you 2,267 workhours per year to complete that work.
Compare that to someone doing productive/billable work for 90% of the time they are in the office, it would take them 1,889 workhours per year to complete that same work.
That’s a difference of 378 hours! Use this chart below to compare how many hours it might take you to complete your work and you’ll see that productivity can make a HUGE difference in whether or not paralegals work long hours.
As a paralegal, you don’t always have control over how much work your attorney gives you, what the organization’s definition of work/life balance is, and many other things. But one thing you do have some control over is how productive you are when you are in the office (or on the clock working from home).
Learn how to balance being a mom and a rockstar paralegal.
Learn why Billable Hours Matter More Than You Think They Do.
It's all in the numbers
Seeing how important it is to stay on track during the workday to get out of the office at a decent time, if you want to work less hours, here are 3 Pro Tips for Paralegal Time Management to help you get the most out of your day.
👉 If you’re new to the legal profession or to having a billable hour requirement, you should read Everything You Need to Know About Billable Hours.
Meet the Author
Ann Pearson is the Founder of the Paralegal Boot Camp, and host of the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show, and passionate about promoting the paralegal profession.
Ann spent 20 years working as a paralegal manager and a litigation paralegal before opening the Paralegal Boot Camp in 2010.
Ann’s training programs focus on adding immediate value to a paralegal’s career and bridging the gap between what a paralegal learns in school and what they actually do on the job.
Visit the About Us Page to learn more about why Ann started the Paralegal Boot Camp.
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