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Attorney law clerk vs litigation attorney

The differences between attorney law clerks and litigation attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an attorney law clerk has an average salary of $112,527, which is higher than the $109,027 average annual salary of a litigation attorney.

The top three skills for an attorney law clerk include litigation, discovery responses and settlement agreements. The most important skills for a litigation attorney are litigation, law firm, and legal research.

Attorney law clerk vs litigation attorney overview

Attorney Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Yearly salary$112,527$109,027
Hourly rate$54.10$52.42
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs72,6416,918
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 53%
Average age4146
Years of experience-4

What does an attorney law clerk do?

An Attorney Law Clerk helps attorneys by assembling and organizing information for legal documents. They research and analyze law sources to prepare drafts of briefs or arguments for review and approval.

What does a litigation attorney do?

A Litigation Attorney manages all phases of the litigation process from investigation and pleading to trial, settlement, and appeal. They also question witnesses, victims, and others involved in cases.

Attorney law clerk vs litigation attorney salary

Attorney law clerks and litigation attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.

Attorney Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Average salary$112,527$109,027
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $174,000Between $69,000 And $172,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyReed SmithPerkins Coie
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between attorney law clerk and litigation attorney education

There are a few differences between an attorney law clerk and a litigation attorney in terms of educational background:

Attorney Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 53%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Attorney law clerk vs litigation attorney demographics

Here are the differences between attorney law clerks' and litigation attorneys' demographics:

Attorney Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Average age4146
Gender ratioMale, 53.5% Female, 46.5%Male, 56.8% Female, 43.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 8.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage13%10%

Differences between attorney law clerk and litigation attorney duties and responsibilities

Attorney law clerk example responsibilities.

  • Draft motions, answers, memos, subpoenas, and client letters for a criminal defense attorney.
  • Conduct a general civil and commercial litigation practice, providing co- representation to either plaintiff or defendant parties in civil litigation.
  • Draft various motions, interrogatories, letters, memorandum, petitions, and jury charges in both civil and legal fields.
  • Draft real estate documents, wills and trusts, interrogatories, requests for admissions, and answers and objections to discovery.
  • Litigate contested probate matters and guardianship proceedings.
  • Conduct and defend depositions in contest probate proceedings.
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Litigation attorney example responsibilities.

  • Supervise and manage plaintiff's personal injury practice.
  • Develop litigation strategies including discovery, deposition, arbitration, and jury trial.
  • Draft internal memos, subpoenas and various discovery documents.
  • Direct and determine all aspects of plaintiff litigation and resolution strategy.
  • Review documents for FINRA arbitration concerning poaching of traders between inter-dealer brokers.
  • Respond to investigative subpoenas from U.S. government regulatory agencies requesting production of relevant client and third party material.
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Attorney law clerk vs litigation attorney skills

Common attorney law clerk skills
  • Litigation, 17%
  • Discovery Responses, 13%
  • Settlement Agreements, 5%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 5%
  • Legal Issues, 4%
  • Legal Memoranda, 4%
Common litigation attorney skills
  • Litigation, 30%
  • Law Firm, 14%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Civil Litigation, 4%
  • Commercial Litigation, 3%
  • Insurance Defense, 3%