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The differences between city attorneys and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a city attorney and a legal extern. Additionally, a city attorney has an average salary of $102,836, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a city attorney include litigation, legal research and legal advice. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| City Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $102,836 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $49.44 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,583 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A city attorney typically works for the government and focuses on giving legal advice to city leaders when it comes to various matters that affect the city. Their responsibilities include maintaining knowledge of the latest changes in state and federal laws, helping city officials and staff understand procedures, drafting and reviewing contracts and laws, and performing extensive research and analysis. There are also instances when a city attorney may provide legal advice to citizens and even represent government agencies.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
City attorneys and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| City Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $102,836 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $158,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a city attorney and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| City Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between city attorneys' and legal externs' demographics:
| City Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |