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The differences between assistant paralegals and law clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a law clerk has an average salary of $55,916, which is higher than the $55,677 average annual salary of an assistant paralegal.
The top three skills for an assistant paralegal include law firm, litigation and paralegals. The most important skills for a law clerk are litigation, legal issues, and legal memos.
| Assistant Paralegal | Law Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $55,677 | $55,916 |
| Hourly rate | $26.77 | $26.88 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 6,331 | 75,014 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
Assistant paralegals are legal professionals who plan, develop, and manage cases. The assistant paralegals collect and arrange evidence and legal documents for review by attorneys and case preparation. They draft correspondence, document responses, discoveries, and pleadings. It is their duty to analyze and either write or summarize reports so that attorneys can prepare for their trials. They contact and have a conference with their clients. Among the skills the paralegal assistant needs to possess include communication, writing, research, organization, and confidentiality.
Law clerks are employees in a legal firm who handle clerical tasks for the office. They handle the office's official phone lines, answering incoming calls, and making outgoing calls. They also field office correspondence, often receiving incoming mail and distributing them to their addressees. They manage office documents and ensure that they are correctly filed and labeled in their respective storage bins. Law clerks help make office life more comfortable because they make sure that the office is running well. They also manage appointments and office calendars.
Assistant paralegals and law clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Paralegal | Law Clerk | |
| Average salary | $55,677 | $55,916 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $103,000 | Between $27,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Hughes Hubbard & Reed |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an assistant paralegal and a law clerk in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Paralegal | Law Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Political Science | Law |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between assistant paralegals' and law clerks' demographics:
| Assistant Paralegal | Law Clerk | |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9% | Male, 52.5% Female, 47.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 8.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 13% |