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Certified legal investigator vs assistant paralegal

The differences between certified legal investigators and assistant paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a certified legal investigator, becoming an assistant paralegal takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an assistant paralegal has an average salary of $55,677, which is higher than the $49,535 average annual salary of a certified legal investigator.

The top three skills for a certified legal investigator include law enforcement agencies, federal agencies and incident management. The most important skills for an assistant paralegal are law firm, litigation, and paralegals.

Certified legal investigator vs assistant paralegal overview

Certified Legal InvestigatorAssistant Paralegal
Yearly salary$49,535$55,677
Hourly rate$23.81$26.77
Growth rate6%14%
Number of jobs43,3516,331
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4446
Years of experience612

Certified legal investigator vs assistant paralegal salary

Certified legal investigators and assistant paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.

Certified Legal InvestigatorAssistant Paralegal
Average salary$49,535$55,677
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $89,000Between $30,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between certified legal investigator and assistant paralegal education

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

Certified Legal InvestigatorAssistant Paralegal
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorCriminal JusticePolitical Science
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of Pennsylvania

Certified legal investigator vs assistant paralegal demographics

Here are the differences between certified legal investigators' and assistant paralegals' demographics:

Certified Legal InvestigatorAssistant Paralegal
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 38.2% Female, 61.8%Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 15.1% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 4.8% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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 Percentage8%9%

Differences between certified legal investigator and assistant paralegal duties and responsibilities

Certified legal investigator example responsibilities.

  • Participate in and lead the controlled purchase of illegal narcotics and firearms to apprehend suspects.
  • Take and submit DNA evidence.
  • Create quality control documentation associate with manufacturing process, raw materials and quality testing procedures according to corporate and FDA guidelines.
  • Perform surveillance of suspects using binoculars, cameras and camcorders.

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

Certified legal investigator vs assistant paralegal skills

Common certified legal investigator skills
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 46%
  • Federal Agencies, 27%
  • Incident Management, 27%
Common assistant paralegal skills
  • Law Firm, 12%
  • Litigation, 11%
  • Paralegals, 10%
  • Status Reports, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Subpoenas, 4%

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