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The differences between defense attorneys and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a defense attorney and a legal extern. Additionally, a defense attorney has an average salary of $103,209, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a defense attorney include litigation, insurance defense and law firm. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Defense Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $103,209 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $49.62 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 6,557 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A defense attorney serves as an advocate for individuals accused of committing crimes, representing and defending them at court to prove their innocence or negotiate plea bargains. As a defense attorney, they are responsible for studying everything about the case, preparing legal documents, gathering evidence, conducting interviews with the client and potential witnesses, coordinating with paralegals, and developing different strategies to defend the client during the court proceedings. They also provide counseling to clients, offer legal advice, give them updates about the case, and help them understand the procedures and risks.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Defense attorneys and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Defense Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $103,209 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $152,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Taylor English Duma | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a defense attorney and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Defense Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between defense attorneys' and legal externs' demographics:
| Defense Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |