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Area counselor vs contract attorney

The differences between area counselors and contract attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an area counselor and a contract attorney. Additionally, a contract attorney has an average salary of $97,474, which is higher than the $51,394 average annual salary of an area counselor.

The top three skills for an area counselor include legal advice, litigation and legal services. The most important skills for a contract attorney are litigation, e-discovery, and legal research.

Area counselor vs contract attorney overview

Area CounselorContract Attorney
Yearly salary$51,394$97,474
Hourly rate$24.71$46.86
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs36,63413,592
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 57%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Area counselor vs contract attorney salary

Area counselors and contract attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.

Area CounselorContract Attorney
Average salary$51,394$97,474
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $86,000Between $60,000 And $158,000
Highest paying City-San Ramon, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Perkins Coie
Best paying industry--

Differences between area counselor and contract attorney education

There are a few differences between an area counselor and a contract attorney in terms of educational background:

Area CounselorContract Attorney
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 57%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Area counselor vs contract attorney demographics

Here are the differences between area counselors' and contract attorneys' demographics:

Area CounselorContract Attorney
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 51.0% Female, 49.0%Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 5.8% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between area counselor and contract attorney duties and responsibilities

Area counselor example responsibilities.

  • Manage employment and commercial litigation.
  • Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
  • Attend corporate leadership and management courses.
  • Prepare and review requests for litigation and settlements.
  • Supervise international business litigation and arbitration.
  • Supervise international business litigation and arbitration.

Contract attorney example responsibilities.

  • Conduct first-level document review, QC review, and privilege review for complex residential mortgage-backed securities litigation.
  • Experience in e-discovery document review teams assessing responsiveness in second requests, pharmaceutical litigation/product liability cases and patent infringement suits.
  • Consult with law firms regarding deposition and hearing preparations and provide other litigation support services for various banking and pharmaceutical antitrust matters
  • Remove confidential personal information and HIPAA.
  • Prepare deposition files, write pleadings, subpoenas and participate in other discovery-relate projects.
  • Privilege log line writing and privilege QC in large-scale anti-trust litigation/investigation of several private equity firms.
  • Show more

Area counselor vs contract attorney skills

Common area counselor skills
  • Legal Advice, 43%
  • Litigation, 31%
  • Legal Services, 22%
  • Criminal Defense, 4%
Common contract attorney skills
  • Litigation, 23%
  • E-Discovery, 11%
  • Legal Research, 7%
  • Legal Issues, 4%
  • Real Estate, 3%
  • Intellectual Property, 3%