Prevailing Wage for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Prevailing wage for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (SOC 43-6012) is set by DOL across four experience levels, from entry-level Legal Administrative Assistant roles to fully competent Legal Administrator positions. Whether your title reads Confidential Secretary or Legal Coordinator, the wage floor varies significantly by city and determines the minimum your sponsored salary must meet.
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Entry-level legal support staff with limited experience performing routine tasks under close supervision. Typically new graduates or candidates transitioning into legal administrative work with basic familiarity of legal terminology and document handling.
The most common filing level for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Candidates with moderate experience working independently on legal correspondence, filings, and procedures, requiring only general supervision and solid working knowledge of legal processes.
Experienced professionals handling complex legal documentation, supervising junior staff, or managing specialized practice-area workflows with minimal oversight. Typically several years of focused legal administrative experience in a defined practice area.
Senior legal administrative professionals in lead or firm-wide coordination roles, setting procedures, mentoring teams, and serving as primary support for partners or executives across multiple practice areas with full autonomy.
Prevailing Wage for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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Confirm your practice-area specialty affects level placement
Legal administrative roles in high-complexity areas like litigation or corporate transactions are often filed at Level 2 or Level 3, not Level 1. If your offer involves managing court filings, subpoenas, or closing documents, verify the filed wage level reflects that scope.
Watch for law firm tier differences in wage filings
BigLaw firms in New York and Washington, DC consistently file at higher wage levels than regional or boutique firms for the same SOC code. A Legal Admin Assistant offer from a regional firm may sit at the L2 floor while a comparable BigLaw role files at L3 or above.
Check whether your worksite city is on the LCA
DOL requires the LCA to list the actual worksite location. For legal support staff who split time between a firm's offices, the city on the LCA determines which prevailing wage applies. A lower-wage satellite office listing on your LCA can reduce your guaranteed floor significantly.
Use Migrate Mate to find employers sponsoring legal administrative roles
Migrate Mate shows which law firms and corporate legal departments have historically sponsored Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, so you can focus on employers with a documented pattern of filing for this SOC rather than guessing at sponsorship willingness.
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Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 43-6012.00 alongside Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Confidential Secretary Prevailing Wage
Confidential Secretary Prevailing Wage
Confidential Secretary positions fall under SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant) Prevailing Wage
Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant) Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant) for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Legal Administrator (Legal Admin) Prevailing Wage
Legal Administrator (Legal Admin) Prevailing Wage
Legal Administrator (Legal Admin) is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Legal Coordinator Prevailing Wage
Legal Coordinator Prevailing Wage
Legal Coordinator positions fall under SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Legal Management Assistant Prevailing Wage
Legal Management Assistant Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Legal Management Assistant for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Legal Office Support Assistant Prevailing Wage
Legal Office Support Assistant Prevailing Wage
Legal Office Support Assistant is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Legal Practice Assistant Prevailing Wage
Legal Practice Assistant Prevailing Wage
Legal Practice Assistant positions fall under SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Legal Secretary Prevailing Wage
Legal Secretary Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Legal Secretary for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Litigation Secretary Prevailing Wage
Litigation Secretary Prevailing Wage
Litigation Secretary is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Magistrate Assistant Prevailing Wage
Magistrate Assistant Prevailing Wage
Magistrate Assistant positions fall under SOC 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants?
DOL bases prevailing wages on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For SOC 43-6012, OFLC maps those survey results to four wage levels using a formula tied to the regional wage distribution. Employers sponsoring a Legal Secretary or Administrative Assistant must certify on the LCA that the offered wage meets or exceeds the applicable level for the worksite metro area.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I identify mine?
Level 1 covers entry-level legal support under close supervision. Level 2, the most common filing level for this occupation, reflects qualified candidates working independently on standard legal tasks. Level 3 applies to experienced professionals handling complex work with minimal oversight. Level 4 covers senior leads or firm-wide coordinators. Your level should match the actual duties and supervisory context in your job description, not just your years of experience.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same role differ so much between cities?
OFLC uses regional OES survey data to calculate prevailing wages, so each metro area produces its own wage floor for SOC 43-6012. Markets with dense concentrations of large law firms, such as San Jose or Washington, DC, produce higher floors than smaller metros. The worksite address on the LCA controls which metro's wage applies, so a remote arrangement or multi-office assignment can affect the floor your employer must certify.
What happens if my job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
An LCA cannot be certified by DOL if the offered wage falls below the applicable prevailing wage for the filed level and worksite location. If USCIS discovers a wage deficiency on an approved petition, it can issue a Request for Evidence or deny the petition. The employer is also subject to back-wage liability and debarment under DOL enforcement. An offer below the floor is not a legal basis for employment in a sponsored status.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 43-6012 by state and metro area. Enter the worksite city and select the experience level that matches your role's duties to see the current wage floor. You can also review LCA disclosure data OFLC publishes quarterly to see what wages employers have recently certified for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in your target market. Migrate Mate can help you identify which employers in that market have an active sponsorship history for this role.
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