I Need to know what kind of salary to ask for in an interview. I am a paralegal with 5 yrs. experience.?

Where have you had the 5 years of experience in (city/state)? What were you paid there? Have you priced the market out in Texas? What are his expectations of you?

In my area, paralegals are generally paid 15 to 16 dollars per hour, but also get benefits and 401k, so I would look at bumping the salary enough to cover at least what you would anticipate putting into an IRA and the fair cash value of any medical benefits that you would receive if offered. I would suggest a sum equal to $720.00 per week gross--and make sure that you are paid hourly so that any overtime you do is paid as well. If you are offered a flat salary, I would base whatever you decide hourly (I suggest 18.00 per hour) and multiply that by 44 hours per week, and use that as your salary. There are some tricky labor laws that make you an exempt employee because you will be working in an office, so make sure that you cover yourself. (One place that I worked at is still paying me back pay for 3 years of denying overtime in my non-exempt salary job..paid me for 40 hours per week and I was working on average 60 hours) Good luck on your job search!!

Do research to find the average pay for this position in your area. Ask if the pay is negotiable. If you feel you deserve more, be prepared to discuss the reasons in quantifiable terms.

You should ask for a little more considering they don't offer any benefits...

If you are fairly certain of the current amount that he is paying, you should consider why the current person is leaving. While that would not give you leverage to hold him up, I think that somewhere between that number and $30,000 per year is about right. If you can get the job done, that is a bargain.