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Contractor-paralegal vs attorney's assistant

The differences between contractor-paralegals and attorney's assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a contractor-paralegal and an attorney's assistant. Additionally, a contractor-paralegal has an average salary of $60,686, which is higher than the $52,855 average annual salary of an attorney's assistant.

The top three skills for a contractor-paralegal include litigation, legal research and discovery responses. The most important skills for an attorney's assistant are law firm, litigation, and pleadings.

Contractor-paralegal vs attorney's assistant overview

Contractor-ParalegalAttorney's Assistant
Yearly salary$60,686$52,855
Hourly rate$29.18$25.41
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs15,6096,425
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

Contractor-paralegal vs attorney's assistant salary

Contractor-paralegals and attorney's assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contractor-ParalegalAttorney's Assistant
Average salary$60,686$52,855
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $99,000Between $35,000 And $78,000
Highest paying CityCamarillo, CA-
Highest paying stateCalifornia-
Best paying companySeaSpine-
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between contractor-paralegal and attorney's assistant education

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

Contractor-ParalegalAttorney's Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorLegal Support ServicesLaw
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Contractor-paralegal vs attorney's assistant demographics

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

Contractor-ParalegalAttorney's Assistant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 26.8% Female, 73.2%Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 5.8% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black 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%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

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

Contractor-paralegal example responsibilities.

  • Manage client expenses and prepare billing and financial statements using PClaw and reconcile attorney's escrow and general accounts using QuickBooks.
  • Assist staff counsels in all aspects of litigation management including factual investigation, document preparation, trial preparation and support.
  • Research using Lexis Nexis and online resources.
  • Summarize medical records, check blue-book cites, retrieve statutory and case law on LEXIS ,
  • Complete contract work for local attorneys in the areas of civil, family law, personal injury, and probate matters.
  • Prepare, compile and distribute various PowerPoint presentations.
  • Show more

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

Contractor-paralegal vs attorney's assistant skills

Common contractor-paralegal skills
  • Litigation, 12%
  • Legal Research, 9%
  • Discovery Responses, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 7%
  • In-House Counsel, 5%
  • Contract Database, 5%
Common attorney's assistant skills
  • Law Firm, 10%
  • Litigation, 8%
  • Pleadings, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 6%
  • Expense Reports, 5%