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The differences between court clerks and paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a paralegal has an average salary of $49,943, which is higher than the $36,328 average annual salary of a court clerk.
The top three skills for a court clerk include data entry, customer service and subpoenas. The most important skills for a paralegal are litigation, legal research, and law firm.
| Court Clerk | Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $36,328 | $49,943 |
| Hourly rate | $17.47 | $24.01 |
| Growth rate | - | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 69,560 | 5,177 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 49 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | 12 |
A court clerk is responsible for supporting court procedures and civil justice systems by performing administrative and clerical duties for law enforcement personnel and court officers. Court clerks perform data processing procedures, sorting documents, storing court records, maintaining confidentiality on clients' information, managing internal communications, scheduling meetings, and assisting in court investigations. They also respond to the visitors' inquiries and concerns, verify their appointments, and direct them to the appropriate personnel and department. A court clerk must be highly communicative and organizational, especially when maintaining records during court procedures and processing court fines.
Paralegals are law firm or legal department employees who work on cases with lawyers. They handle different activities, usually administrative or clerical, such as organizing and maintaining files, updating records, and managing correspondences, among others. Paralegals also handle different activities directly related to active cases being worked on by lawyers in the firm or department. They assist lawyers on cases by preparing materials needed for trials, conducting legal research, verifying trial facts, helping during interviews, getting statements from those involved in the case, and creating presentation materials. Paralegals should have knowledge of laws and should be familiar with landmark cases.
Court clerks and paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Court Clerk | Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $36,328 | $49,943 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Edmonds, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Wayne County, Michigan | Arnall Golden Gregory |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a court clerk and a paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Court Clerk | Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | - | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between court clerks' and paralegals' demographics:
| Court Clerk | Paralegal | |
| Average age | 49 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.0% Female, 83.0% | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 4.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |