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Attorney's assistant vs legal clerk

The differences between attorney's assistants and legal clerks 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 a legal clerk. Additionally, an attorney's assistant has an average salary of $52,855, which is higher than the $35,152 average annual salary of a legal clerk.

The top three skills for an attorney's assistant include law firm, litigation and pleadings. The most important skills for a legal clerk are litigation, legal correspondence, and subpoenas.

Attorney's assistant vs legal clerk overview

Attorney's AssistantLegal Clerk
Yearly salary$52,855$35,152
Hourly rate$25.41$16.90
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs6,42574,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

Attorney's assistant vs legal clerk salary

Attorney's assistants and legal clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

Attorney's AssistantLegal Clerk
Average salary$52,855$35,152
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $78,000Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Diodes Incorporated
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between attorney's assistant and legal clerk education

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

Attorney's AssistantLegal Clerk
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Attorney's assistant vs legal clerk demographics

Here are the differences between attorney's assistants' and legal clerks' demographics:

Attorney's AssistantLegal Clerk
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 30.3% Female, 69.7%Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1%
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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between attorney's assistant and legal clerk 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.
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Legal clerk example responsibilities.

  • Complete accounting and payroll functions.- gather and process client documents.- manage daily operations of office.
  • Maintain and organize litigation materials; litigation management; process correspondence, and various clerical duties, including filing/copying/package assembly.
  • Process civil, probate and small claims cases, issue writs, abstracts, summons, defaults and judgments.
  • Assist or draft wills, power of attorney, revocable living trusts, probate, adoptions, ERISA and Medicaid eligibility.
  • Serve subpoenas and notice and draft related affidavits.
  • Conduct conference calls independently with clients to gather information to answer interrogatories.
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Attorney's assistant vs legal clerk skills

Common attorney's assistant skills
  • Law Firm, 10%
  • Litigation, 8%
  • Pleadings, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 6%
  • Expense Reports, 5%
Common legal clerk skills
  • Litigation, 13%
  • Legal Correspondence, 9%
  • Subpoenas, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 5%
  • Law Firm, 5%