I'm a recent college grad that's been an immigration/criminal paralegal at a small firm for almost a year now.
Turnover here is insane. Benefits are crap. Pay is not competitive. The attorney that runs my department is a micromanaging nightmare. A few months ago, he tried preventing any paralegals from talking – whether about work or anything else (I'm serious). I had to complain to his boss during my quarterly review to get him to stop. All 3 immigration paralegals (including myself) decided to start looking for jobs after this.
The first paralegal got an offer for $24 an hour (was previously getting paid $19) at a competing firm. Our bosses wouldn't match their offer, so she walked. Myself and the other paralegal had to inherit her entire case load.
The second paralegal got on offer to start working on a political campaign. Our bosses tried offering her better pay, but she absolutely despised the job and put in her two weeks.
…And now, I'm the last one standing. One of the attorneys I work under texted me saying “please don't leave me” (have not responded). I got an email on Friday from a partner saying they were giving me a $1 raise to $24/hour and said “we appreciate you” (lol, sure bud).
Too little, too late. My alma mater made a job posting for a Law Office Manager position, and I killed the interview last week. They called me an hour later and said they want me to talk to the head of the department to “have a casual conversation to get to know you, and talk about the office more”. I'm taking all of next week off to apply for other jobs, just in case. Once I get an offer letter, I'm leaving without notice and taking a vacation somewhere.
In the span of one month, this tiny firm has lost all 3 of their criminal/immigration paralegals, and a receptionist to boot. This is what happens when you overwork your employees and don't offer them a competitive package to stay 🙂