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The differences between administrative assistant leads and legal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative assistant lead, becoming a legal assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a legal assistant has an average salary of $42,387, which is higher than the $39,864 average annual salary of an administrative assistant lead.
The top three skills for an administrative assistant lead include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a legal assistant are litigation, legal correspondence, and discovery responses.
| Administrative Assistant Lead | Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $39,864 | $42,387 |
| Hourly rate | $19.17 | $20.38 |
| Growth rate | -8% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 50,167 | 9,560 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 50 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Lead administrative assistant job responsibilities include providing administrative support to ensure the organized operation of the office. They assist managers and employees through a range of tasks related to the organization, including ordering supplies, scheduling support meetings, filing confidential files, and booking travel arrangements. Typically, they also handle all incoming and outgoing communication through phones and support the preparation and distribution of memos, letters, and company-related forms. Moreover, they report to a direct manager or head of a unit/department.
Legal assistants are responsible for doing most of the administrative or clerical needs of a lawyer. They support lawyers by preparing documents for hearings or trials, conducting research for legal cases, organizing files and records, managing schedules, manning phone lines, communicating with legal clients, documenting meeting minutes, and setting up appointments. It is important for legal assistants to have a basic knowledge of laws and the judiciary system so that they can provide better support to lawyers. They should also be detail-oriented, organized, and excellent communicators.
Administrative assistant leads and legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Assistant Lead | Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $39,864 | $42,387 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $59,000 | Between $30,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | Brookline, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | University of Washington | Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey Pc |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Professional |
There are a few differences between an administrative assistant lead and a legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Assistant Lead | Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between administrative assistant leads' and legal assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Assistant Lead | Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7% | Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 9% |