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The differences between executive legal assistants and assistant paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an executive legal assistant and an assistant paralegal. Additionally, an assistant paralegal has an average salary of $55,677, which is higher than the $53,442 average annual salary of an executive legal assistant.
The top three skills for an executive legal assistant include powerpoint, expense reports and litigation. The most important skills for an assistant paralegal are law firm, litigation, and paralegals.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Assistant Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $53,442 | $55,677 |
| Hourly rate | $25.69 | $26.77 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 72,148 | 6,331 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An Executive Legal Assistant provides comprehensive support to lawyers and legal offices. They start as entry-level assistants before specializing in a field after a few years with experience; litigation, criminal law, family law, international law. Their duties include performing legal research by gathering case information for presentation, writing legal reports based on research and interviews, scheduling meetings, organizing travel arrangements, and organizing documentation for easy accessibility. An Executive Legal Assistant must be well organized, analytical research skills, and experience in case management. They typically spend long work hours spent in libraries and offices, requiring occasional travel.
Assistant paralegals are legal professionals who plan, develop, and manage cases. The assistant paralegals collect and arrange evidence and legal documents for review by attorneys and case preparation. They draft correspondence, document responses, discoveries, and pleadings. It is their duty to analyze and either write or summarize reports so that attorneys can prepare for their trials. They contact and have a conference with their clients. Among the skills the paralegal assistant needs to possess include communication, writing, research, organization, and confidentiality.
Executive legal assistants and assistant paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Assistant Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $53,442 | $55,677 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $75,000 | Between $30,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | PayPal | - |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | - |
There are a few differences between an executive legal assistant and an assistant paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Assistant Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Political Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between executive legal assistants' and assistant paralegals' demographics:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Assistant Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |