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The differences between executive legal assistants and executive associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an executive legal assistant, becoming an executive associate takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive associate has an average salary of $85,371, 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 executive associate are powerpoint, provides administrative support, and project management.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Executive Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $53,442 | $85,371 |
| Hourly rate | $25.69 | $41.04 |
| Growth rate | 14% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 72,148 | 65,999 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 46 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
An executive associate plays a vital role in maintaining a company's smooth workflow. They are in charge of coordinating employees with executives and performing administrative support tasks such as preparing and processing documents, organizing and disseminating files, arranging meetings and appointments, handling calls and correspondence, maintaining records of all transactions, and developing strategies to optimize office procedures. Furthermore, as an executive associate, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Executive legal assistants and executive associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Executive Associate | |
| Average salary | $53,442 | $85,371 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $75,000 | Between $44,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Covington & Burling |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | - |
There are a few differences between an executive legal assistant and an executive associate in terms of educational background:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Executive Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive legal assistants' and executive associates' demographics:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Executive Associate | |
| Average age | 46 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5% |
| 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |