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Attorney's assistant vs assistant paralegal

The differences between attorney's assistants and assistant 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 attorney's assistant and an assistant paralegal. Additionally, an assistant paralegal has an average salary of $55,677, which is higher than the $52,855 average annual salary of an attorney's assistant.

The top three skills for an attorney's assistant include law firm, litigation and pleadings. The most important skills for an assistant paralegal are law firm, litigation, and paralegals.

Attorney's assistant vs assistant paralegal overview

Attorney's AssistantAssistant Paralegal
Yearly salary$52,855$55,677
Hourly rate$25.41$26.77
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs6,4256,331
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

Attorney's assistant vs assistant paralegal salary

Attorney's assistants and assistant paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.

Attorney's AssistantAssistant Paralegal
Average salary$52,855$55,677
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $78,000Between $30,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between attorney's assistant and assistant paralegal education

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

Attorney's AssistantAssistant Paralegal
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorLawPolitical Science
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Attorney's assistant vs assistant paralegal demographics

Here are the differences between attorney's assistants' and assistant paralegals' demographics:

Attorney's AssistantAssistant Paralegal
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 30.3% Female, 69.7%Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between attorney's assistant and assistant paralegal duties and responsibilities

Attorney's assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage active caseload of labor arbitrations.
  • Assist patent attorneys by managing invention disclosure documentation and relate correspondence with outside counsel and USPTO.
  • Draft jury demands, discovery responses, subpoenas, and closing letters for the attorney's cases.
  • Draft legal complaints, summons and interrogatories.
  • Handle significant criminal, juvenile and probate cases.
  • Experience with presentation of software such as PowerPoint.
  • Show more

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
  • Show more

Attorney's assistant vs assistant paralegal skills

Common attorney's assistant skills
  • Law Firm, 10%
  • Litigation, 8%
  • Pleadings, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 6%
  • Expense Reports, 5%
Common assistant paralegal skills
  • Law Firm, 12%
  • Litigation, 11%
  • Paralegals, 10%
  • Status Reports, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Subpoenas, 4%