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Attorney law clerk vs staff attorney

The differences between attorney law clerks and staff 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 $110,028 average annual salary of a staff attorney.

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

Attorney law clerk vs staff attorney overview

Attorney Law ClerkStaff Attorney
Yearly salary$112,527$110,028
Hourly rate$54.10$52.90
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs72,64175,402
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 56%
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 staff attorney do?

Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.

Attorney law clerk vs staff attorney salary

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

Attorney Law ClerkStaff Attorney
Average salary$112,527$110,028
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $174,000Between $69,000 And $173,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyReed SmithNelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between attorney law clerk and staff attorney education

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

Attorney Law ClerkStaff Attorney
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 56%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Attorney law clerk vs staff attorney demographics

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

Attorney Law ClerkStaff Attorney
Average age4146
Gender ratioMale, 53.5% Female, 46.5%Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
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, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage13%10%

Differences between attorney law clerk and staff 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.
  • Show more

Staff attorney example responsibilities.

  • Generate an internal memorandum exploring VAWA and special immigrant juvenile cases that lead to the establishment of a new clinic program.
  • Provide statewide training for attorneys and advocates on education law and also responsible for major impact education litigation and appeals.
  • Create and conduct workshops on e-discovery, privilege, FMLA, ADA, and FLSA
  • Conduct internal FLSA (wage and hour) compliance and re-classification audits for pre-complaint resolution.
  • General practice attorney handling primarily bankruptcy, domestic relations and criminal cases, preparation of wills and trusts and probate.
  • Draft wills, powers of attorney, probate estate administration filings, divorce filings, caregiver contracts, and property deeds.
  • Show more

Attorney law clerk vs staff 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 staff attorney skills
  • Litigation, 17%
  • Legal Services, 8%
  • Juris, 7%
  • Legal Advice, 6%
  • Appeals, 4%
  • Administrative Agencies, 4%