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Assistant paralegal vs senior paralegal

The differences between assistant paralegals and senior paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an assistant paralegal and a senior paralegal. Additionally, a senior paralegal has an average salary of $60,125, 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 senior paralegal are legal research, litigation, and law firm.

Assistant paralegal vs senior paralegal overview

Assistant ParalegalSenior Paralegal
Yearly salary$55,677$60,125
Hourly rate$26.77$28.91
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs6,3314,213
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does an assistant paralegal do?

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.

What does a senior paralegal do?

A Senior Paralegal helps attorneys acquire the information needed for legal research, document preparation, and for other assignments delegated to them. They are usually specialized in certain areas of law, such as tax law.

Assistant paralegal vs senior paralegal salary

Assistant paralegals and senior paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant ParalegalSenior Paralegal
Average salary$55,677$60,125
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $103,000Between $38,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Amazon
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between assistant paralegal and senior paralegal education

There are a few differences between an assistant paralegal and a senior paralegal in terms of educational background:

Assistant ParalegalSenior Paralegal
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorPolitical ScienceLegal Support Services
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Assistant paralegal vs senior paralegal demographics

Here are the differences between assistant paralegals' and senior paralegals' demographics:

Assistant ParalegalSenior Paralegal
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 30.1% Female, 69.9%Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 5.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between assistant paralegal and senior paralegal duties and responsibilities

Assistant paralegal example responsibilities.

  • Lead communications with courts, and other regulatory authorities in multiple state jurisdictions to ensure jurisdictional and regulatory compliance in litigation.
  • Assist asbestos supervising attorney in all litigation tasks for product liability suits.
  • Produce innovative bankruptcy PowerPoint marketing presentation
  • Assist in depositions, providing administrative support to prominent law firms and DOJ officials.
  • Analyze and relay intelligence communications of significance to appropriate DOJ officials.
  • Edit and compile legal documents relating to military separations and courts-martial
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Senior paralegal example responsibilities.

  • Achieve sole responsibility for administration of all estates and guardianships.
  • Respond to active litigation in collaboration with internal custodians and external counsel, including responding to discovery requests and subpoenas.
  • Handle all corporate matters including annual shareholder documentation and shareholder meetings, prepare contracts and coordinate execution, and provide litigation support
  • Edit and proofread initial drafts, transcribes dictation and perform cite checking, copy assembly/attachments for filing and/or mailing.
  • Draft and prepare legal documents, correspondence, corporate resolutions and UCC's, together with file maintenance and organization.
  • Position entail all secretarial correspondence, dictation, expense reporting, record keeping and the handling of settlement documents and payments.
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Assistant paralegal vs senior paralegal skills

Common assistant paralegal skills
  • Law Firm, 12%
  • Litigation, 11%
  • Paralegals, 10%
  • Status Reports, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Subpoenas, 4%
Common senior paralegal skills
  • Legal Research, 13%
  • Litigation, 13%
  • Law Firm, 7%
  • Subpoenas, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Lexis, 3%