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The differences between corporate secretaries and legal secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a corporate secretary, becoming a legal secretary takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a corporate secretary has an average salary of $88,550, which is higher than the $41,725 average annual salary of a legal secretary.
The top three skills for a corporate secretary include corporate governance, proxy and meeting minutes. The most important skills for a legal secretary are litigation, legal correspondence, and dictation.
| Corporate Secretary | Legal Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $88,550 | $41,725 |
| Hourly rate | $42.57 | $20.06 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 16,480 | 13,182 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Average age | 50 | 54 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A Corporate Secretary works in promoting corporate governance and regulatory compliance. They make certain that the board of directors is equipped with the necessary tools and information in fulfilling their shareholder obligations. They ensure the integrity of an enterprise's governance framework. It is their responsibility to ensure the efficiency of business administration in compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. Corporate Secretaries also implement the decisions of the board.
Legal secretaries are employees in a law firm who are responsible for many administrative tasks. They handle the tasks such as filing and keeping records, ensuring that all documents are stored properly, and update contact information data and other essential office databases. They must also be knowledgeable on the law because they are, at times, assigned to draw up legal documents such as motions and subpoenas, conduct legal research, and write up other important office memoranda. Legal secretaries should be organized, trustworthy, and level-headed.
Corporate secretaries and legal secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Corporate Secretary | Legal Secretary | |
| Average salary | $88,550 | $41,725 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $132,000 | Between $28,000 And $60,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Kane Russell Coleman Logan |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a corporate secretary and a legal secretary in terms of educational background:
| Corporate Secretary | Legal Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Bentley University |
Here are the differences between corporate secretaries' and legal secretaries' demographics:
| Corporate Secretary | Legal Secretary | |
| Average age | 50 | 54 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5% | Male, 5.2% Female, 94.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 2.7% White, 71.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 15% |