Paralegals weren’t designed to win…But you still can.
Paralegals Should Be Millionaires isn’t just a book—it’s a revolution in the legal industry. If you’re a paralegal searching for purpose, empowerment, or a new path toward financial freedom, this book was written for you. And today, it’s finally here. (Available on Amazon, btw)
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A Book Born from Struggle—and Vision
This book wasn’t born in a publishing house. It was born in a cold basement office during a foreclosure crisis, in the midst of fear, financial instability, and one bold decision: to bet on myself.
On March 23, 2020, I launched my virtual paralegal business out of sheer desperation. I didn’t realize it then, but that leap would change everything—not just for me, but for the hundreds of paralegals I would later coach, mentor, and help transform their own careers.
Now, five years later, I’m holding a #1 new release on Amazon in four categories—and it still doesn’t feel real.
This Isn’t Just a Book Launch. It’s a Wake-Up Call.
The phrase “Paralegals Should Be Millionaires” came to me mid-podcast, listening to someone talk about million-dollar course sales from at-home manicure tutorials. And I thought: why can’t paralegals see their own potential the same way? That spark lit the fire behind this book.
Too many paralegals are underpaid, overworked, and undervalued—trapped in hybrid roles that blur the lines between admin, legal assistant, and professional case manager. The industry keeps telling us we’re “non-attorneys,” as if our work doesn’t matter. This book says: enough.
Why This Book Had to Be Written
This isn’t only a “how-to” guide. It’s also a why not guide.
Yes, there are tactical business strategies in the book—freelance models, pricing, niche clarity, marketing—but before any of that matters, we need to unpack the internal and systemic barriers keeping paralegals stuck.
We can’t talk about entrepreneurship until we talk about the outdated culture of the legal industry: the financial blind spots, the blending of roles, and the institutional belief that paralegals should be seen, not heard.
We can’t talk about financial independence until we talk about imposter syndrome, people-pleasing, scarcity beliefs, and the emotional toll of working in a profession that doesn’t always respect you back.
And we can’t talk about freedom until we talk about clarity. What do you actually want your life to look like? Because autonomy isn’t just about money—it’s about design.
The Real Value Paralegals Bring (That Law Firms Still Don’t Understand)
There are paralegals out there who have found the missing page in discovery that settled a million-dollar case. Who spotted the inconsistency in testimony that flipped a trial. Who ghostwrite motions that win judgments. Who keep law firms running—while mentoring the next generation of legal professionals on the side.
Yet their salaries remain capped. Their titles get diluted. Their work is often invisible.
Law firms still blend paralegal and admin roles to “justify” full-time hires. They rely on paralegals for critical case work but compensate them as if they’re support staff. And the worst part? Many paralegals have internalized that this is the best they can expect.
This book challenges that narrative—and offers a new one in its place.
The Rise of the Entrepreneurial Paralegal
We’re in a golden era of opportunity. Law firms are evolving. The legal services model is changing. And the visibility of remote work, virtual staffing, and legal tech has opened doors that didn’t exist before.
That means paralegals can now:
Start profitable freelance paralegal businesses.
Launch legal course programs, templates, or digital products.
Build mentorship communities or coaching practices.
Step into executive leadership roles.
Use their legal background to pivot into other high-value industries.
This book is about more than making money—it’s about reclaiming autonomy and redefining your professional identity.
You Don’t Have to Be the Exception to Build Something Exceptional
Here’s the part I didn’t expect: the imposter syndrome didn’t go away when I hit “publish.” I still found myself wondering: who am I to write this? What if someone doesn’t like it? What if it’s too blunt? Too emotional? Too raw?
But that’s exactly why I had to publish it.
Because too many paralegals are asking themselves those same questions—and letting the doubt win. We need more paralegals standing in their power, sharing their knowledge, and building things that last. That’s how the industry will change. Not because we waited for it to—but because we became the change.
The Future of the Paralegal Profession Starts Here
If we want the outside world to respect paralegals as the highly skilled professionals they are, we need to stop accepting roles that don’t.
We need to stop settling for “what fits the job description” and start building careers that match the depth of our expertise and the scope of our value.
The title of this book isn’t a gimmick. It’s a declaration.
Paralegals should be millionaires. Not just because it’s possible, but because it’s deserved.
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PODCAST EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
I am in shock right now. I don't know if you can tell, but I am incredibly nervous because I can't believe the day has come. It doesn't feel real. There's been so much that has gone into this book—the time writing it, three years on and off. I remember starting and stopping, trying to get a book out there.
It's been my dream since I was a child to be an author. I wanted to be a journalist growing up; that was my passion. I loved writing, creating little books. I still have my old books from when I was a kid, writing about horses and such. But it's been my dream to be an author, and while this isn't about me, I did want to share a bit of the journey to get here—to get this book that I'm holding in my hands out into the world.
It's not just the three years of writing; it's the emotions I'm experiencing right now.
More than five years ago, on March 23, 2020, I went down into my little cold basement office and finally started my business, pushing through fear and leaning into desperation. We were going through financial turmoil, and I was bringing in small amounts while trying to manage being a stay-at-home mom.
I remember opening a foreclosure notice in early March, stating that foreclosure proceedings would start if we couldn't catch up on payments. It was a really difficult time. So, all of that to circle back—this book isn't just about the time I spent writing it; it's about going back to that person I was on March 23, 2020, starting my business, and betting on myself. At the time, I didn't know I was betting on myself; I was just acting out of desperation.
Fast forward to now, and that's why it's such a crazy mix of emotions. Holding this book in my hands, I realize that if I hadn't taken that leap that day, none of this would have come about—the house we live in, the business I built, the paralegals I've had the luxury of coaching and mentoring. It all came down to that one decision that, at the time, I didn't know would bring me here. I didn't know it would fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a published author.
It's surreal. And one more thing I want to share: my supportive community is something I do not take for granted. I pulled up my book to add it into the live tour link, and I saw that it hit the number one new release in self-employment on Amazon within five hours of being published. You all got me to the top of the charts on Amazon on day one, which I can't believe.
Now, I'm still scared. Reviews are going to come in, and this book isn't going to resonate with everybody. There are even some chapters that, after reading them multiple times through editing and recording the audiobook, I thought, "Ooh, I hope I don't ruffle feathers with the way I said that," or "Maybe that came off as too blunt." All of the fears came up, and there was a moment where I thought about canceling it. But I kept the release dates, and I know I'm going to ruffle some feathers.
All of this is to say: there is never going to be a special moment in your life where suddenly fear dissipates. You're not going to have fear; you're just going to blast through with confidence. I've overcome a lot of obstacles—building my business, launching that first course, building a brand, putting myself out on TikTok and LinkedIn. Every time, I still get those same little turns in my stomach of "Are people going to judge me? How is this going to be perceived?"
So, obviously, this is a live book tour, and I am promoting the book. I want to go through the book with you a little bit and explain the journey you're going to go on and the journey I intended for you as the author of this book, with you, the reader, in mind. Hopefully, you'll want to grab it and go through that journey on an individual level. I cannot wait to start receiving feedback.
Oh, yay, Julianne! I'm glad you got it on Kindle. Thank you.
Let's Talk About the Movement Behind the Book
When I was originally writing this book, it was called "Build Believe Become," and before that, it was called "Paralegal Entrepreneur." When I titled it "The Paralegal Entrepreneur," it felt like a how-to guide. Don't get me wrong; we all love a how-to guide. I know that paralegals want actionable steps. The actionable steps are absolutely in this book—about halfway through, at page 150, is when the business strategy starts to come into the book.
But I was writing too much of a how-to guide, and it didn't feel right. One day, I was cleaning my house, stuck with writer's block on my book. I had my earbuds in, listening to a podcast about creating courses. They had someone who scaled their business to millions of dollars, teaching people how to file their nails and do at-home manicures—very cheap little cost courses.
As I was listening, it hit me. I thought, "Paralegals should be millionaires." It was immediate chills. That's my book. In that moment, thinking through the nail tech that created a course and became a millionaire, to thinking of why can't paralegals see that they can take their knowledge and skills to start service companies, courses, mentorship programs, or any type of business catering to the legal niche.
How do I get paralegals to see that they should be millionaires? I stopped cleaning, sat next to my fireplace, and started busting out chapters. Anne Lamott says that you have to have a "shitty first draft." I scrapped about 30,000 words of my original how-to guide and said the first section of this book needs to get paralegals to start not being angry but really get that fire in them to say, "Look at what we do."
I use my own examples—missing a page of discovery that turned into over a million-dollar settlement, a trial where I found an inconsistency that led to impeachment and winning the trial, an affidavit from a heartfelt mother who lost her children and rebuilt herself. These are my instances, and as I state in the book, there are paralegals out there with hundreds of their own stories.
It's not to say, "Oh, I'm such an amazing paralegal," but to say, "Look at what you do. Look at the difference you make in the lives of the clients that attorneys serve." It's sometimes hard to dig deep and see what we really do because we don't think about it. Even the paralegals that are bringing in new paralegals and teaching them—you're creating the next generation.
You're mentoring them on the job, helping a lawyer fulfill their dream of business ownership. You are changing what it means for people to get legal representation and to be able to afford it. You carry so much power that we need to uncover and see. Why are we so undervalued?
As I say in the book, I'm not here to start pushing for better pay by means of lobbying. I see a bigger ability for us to stop waiting for that—to stop waiting to see our average $60,000 salary nationwide go up. We always say an attorney makes $127,000, so that makes sense on average, like it's half. I talk about that in the book. We need to stop valuing us on what we are not and start valuing ourselves on what we are.
With my whole heart, and this is the movement behind this book, the more paralegals embrace entrepreneurship or maybe have no interest in becoming a business owner but want to start embracing business mentality and strategy to climb into different types of jobs—executive-level roles, management, creating new jobs for paralegals that aren't just a hybrid mess between a legal assistant and also drafting complex motions.
I fully believe that the more paralegals start embracing this, showing up, getting out there, the visibility, and the more people see paralegals succeeding in that way—building personal brands, claiming their well-earned right in this industry to be respected as a separate individual professional, not just a non-attorney.
I hate that word. That is what's going to change this industry. So that has been the movement behind this book.
Uncovering the Industry and Where They Went Wrong
Going back to where I said paralegals don't just need a how-to guide; they need a why-not guide. They need that empowerment. Uncovering the industry and where they went wrong in creating the paralegal—dating back to the sixties, it was supposed to be a solution to an overburdened attorney that needed more help while they were litigating. The world became more litigious, and we needed that extra person managing the paperwork behind the scenes.
But really, back then, there was so much sexism, institutional inertia. Secretaries in law firms were women back in the sixties, very commonly. Instead of defining a new role, allowing that professional to be respected in a higher-level role, they just blended the job. They blended the tasks.
So we start the book with uncovering that and then moving into more of the financial reality of law firms and the way they leverage paralegals and how the law firms get it all wrong, and how they're now starting to learn how to stop blending these roles. Now is the best opportunity ever for paralegals and legal assistants to really stake their claim in their individual rights, in their individual skill sets, and what they're here to do for the legal industry.
Section Two: Designing Your Life on Your Terms
Section two is my personal favorite section of the book. We deviate away from too much legal and don't go into business yet, but it's the internal blocks that hold you back. We'll go through five fears that hold you back internally, then get into section two where we go into more of the money blocks.
Let me just run through it instead of trying to get through there. Chapter one is "Board of Necessity Trapped in Tradition: We Are More Than Support Staff." Chapter two, "The Financial Blind Spot," and chapter three is "Invisible Ceiling to Internal Walls." That's when we start to blend into fear number one: the concern of UPL. Fear number two: the concern of stepping out of line. Fear number three: being seen trying. Fear number four: fear of competition. And then fear number five is the security concerns of job security, financial security.
Then we get really into the depths in section two: designing your life on your terms. Why section two is important to me, and why I love it so much, is because I deal with a constant "why me?" Am I really worthy of making great money? Am I really worthy of being a published author?