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The differences between deputy chief counsels 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 deputy chief counsel and a legal extern. Additionally, a deputy chief counsel has an average salary of $129,999, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a deputy chief counsel include legal advice, administrative law and IRS. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Deputy Chief Counsel | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $129,999 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $62.50 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 22,780 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Deputy Chief Counsels are responsible for directing and overseeing legal operations in a governmental department or a company. Their duties include acting as second in command in the absence of the chief counsel, supervising other legal programs, building a relationship with external constituencies and legal government departments, acting as a legal representative for a company or government, and developing attorney-client relationship policies. They also formulate legal representation strategies, provide legal advice to board members, assist with public and government inquiries, and administer legal budgeting.
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.
Deputy chief counsels and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Deputy Chief Counsel | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $129,999 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $193,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Agenus | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Media | Professional |
There are a few differences between a deputy chief counsel and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Deputy Chief Counsel | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between deputy chief counsels' and legal externs' demographics:
| Deputy Chief Counsel | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.1% Female, 38.9% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.2% 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% |