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The differences between corporate attorneys and legal consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a corporate attorney and a legal consultant. Additionally, a corporate attorney has an average salary of $115,653, which is higher than the $75,024 average annual salary of a legal consultant.
The top three skills for a corporate attorney include law firm, litigation and real estate. The most important skills for a legal consultant are litigation, regulatory compliance, and legal research.
| Corporate Attorney | Legal Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $115,653 | $75,024 |
| Hourly rate | $55.60 | $36.07 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 20,893 | 16,118 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A corporate attorney is a corporate lawyer who acts as an agent representing a corporation's legal matters. Corporate attorneys represent the business transactions and operations and help their clients prevent expensive litigation. They advise business enterprises on their legal obligations, responsibilities, and rights. It is part of their job to recommend clients on business structures and provide an evaluation of their ventures. The lawyers are expected to develop strong communication skills, negotiation skills, attention to detail, and analytical skills.
A legal consultant uses legal practice knowledge to enhance a law company's efficiency and profitability. Besides advising on the right solutions for customer productivity, marketing and development strategies, legal consultants also actively manage risks by consulting on program and legal-related issues. They help the parent law firm meet its objectives by analyzing problems and developing solutions. Other than negotiating, drafting, and reviewing legal documents, legal consultants also conduct legal research and analyze the right securities, insurance, and retirement plans.
Corporate attorneys and legal consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Corporate Attorney | Legal Consultant | |
| Average salary | $115,653 | $75,024 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $198,000 | Between $40,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton | Alston & Bird |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a corporate attorney and a legal consultant in terms of educational background:
| Corporate Attorney | Legal Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between corporate attorneys' and legal consultants' demographics:
| Corporate Attorney | Legal Consultant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% 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% |