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The differences between executive legal assistants and litigation legal assistants 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 litigation legal assistant. Additionally, an executive legal assistant has an average salary of $53,442, which is higher than the $51,253 average annual salary of a litigation legal assistant.
The top three skills for an executive legal assistant include powerpoint, expense reports and litigation. The most important skills for a litigation legal assistant are litigation, law firm, and trial preparation.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Litigation Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $53,442 | $51,253 |
| Hourly rate | $25.69 | $24.64 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 72,148 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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.
A litigation legal assistant is responsible for assisting operations by organizing documents, researching court files, and scheduling appointments for client consultation. Litigation legal assistants collect case evidence, interview witnesses, and write minutes of meetings for reference. They also coordinate with other organizations to confirm information for possible trials and verify the accuracy of every data. A litigation legal assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling data management procedures under minimal supervision and strict adherence with deadlines.
Executive legal assistants and litigation legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Litigation Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $53,442 | $51,253 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $75,000 | Between $35,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Earthjustice |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Professional |
There are a few differences between an executive legal assistant and a litigation legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Litigation Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between executive legal assistants' and litigation legal assistants' demographics:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Litigation Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 19.0% Female, 81.0% |
| 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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |