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The differences between criminal justice lawyers and assistant counsels can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a criminal justice lawyer and an assistant counsel. Additionally, an assistant counsel has an average salary of $61,229, which is higher than the $49,977 average annual salary of a criminal justice lawyer.
The top three skills for a criminal justice lawyer include criminal justice, semester and public safety. The most important skills for an assistant counsel are litigation, legal issues, and legal advice.
| Criminal Justice Lawyer | Assistant Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $49,977 | $61,229 |
| Hourly rate | $24.03 | $29.44 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 824 | 8,574 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A criminal justice lawyer is responsible for representing clients in court with criminal charges and defends them according to legal requirements and procedures. Criminal justice lawyers analyze the case by undergoing in-depth research and investigation that would support settlement claims. They reference laws and state regulations to identify the clients' options for case resolution. A criminal justice lawyer must have extensive knowledge of the legal industry, as well as possessing excellent critical-thinking skills to strategize appeals and negotiate pleas on trials.
Assistant counsels are legal professionals who research and analyze various laws so they can apply them to the different legal issues that arose in a corporation. These counsels must develop an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage responses to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants. They advise other departments for legal claims related to the right of privacy and publicity as well as defamation. Assistant counsels are also required to act as labor attorneys for employees facing internal discrimination suits while dealing with FMLA, ERISA, and HIPAA issues.
Criminal justice lawyers and assistant counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Criminal Justice Lawyer | Assistant Counsel | |
| Average salary | $49,977 | $61,229 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $76,000 | Between $36,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Indiana University of Pennsylvania | Baltimore City Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between a criminal justice lawyer and an assistant counsel in terms of educational background:
| Criminal Justice Lawyer | Assistant Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Law |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Duke University |
Here are the differences between criminal justice lawyers' and assistant counsels' demographics:
| Criminal Justice Lawyer | Assistant Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1% | Male, 42.3% Female, 57.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |