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The differences between executive legal assistants and legal administrators 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 a legal administrator. Additionally, an executive legal assistant has an average salary of $53,442, which is higher than the $47,198 average annual salary of a legal administrator.
The top three skills for an executive legal assistant include powerpoint, expense reports and litigation. The most important skills for a legal administrator are veterans, litigation, and powerpoint.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Legal Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $53,442 | $47,198 |
| Hourly rate | $25.69 | $22.69 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 72,148 | 56,419 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
The job of legal administrative assistants is to provide support to lawyers and paralegals. They typically perform legal research, manage schedules, and draft legal-related documents. Other duties include interpreting laws, regulations, and rulings in legal documents, obtaining information from other agencies or organizations, and preparing management and legal reports. In addition, legal administrative assistants are responsible for updating and maintaining databases and ensuring to provide effective administrative assistance. They are also expected to schedule client meetings and court hearings.
Executive legal assistants and legal administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Legal Administrator | |
| Average salary | $53,442 | $47,198 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $75,000 | Between $33,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Government |
There are a few differences between an executive legal assistant and a legal administrator in terms of educational background:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Legal Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between executive legal assistants' and legal administrators' demographics:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Legal Administrator | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% |
| 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, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |