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The differences between executive legal assistants and senior 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 senior legal assistant. Additionally, an executive legal assistant has an average salary of $53,442, which is higher than the $51,102 average annual salary of a senior legal assistant.
The top three skills for an executive legal assistant include powerpoint, expense reports and litigation. The most important skills for a senior legal assistant are litigation, legal research, and legal correspondence.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $53,442 | $51,102 |
| Hourly rate | $25.69 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 72,148 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| 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.
Senior legal assistants are responsible for managing junior-level assistants. They also support lawyers with various legal tasks such as conducting legal research, drafting documents, and hearing trials. These assistants must work with attorneys and clients to review various legal documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness. They gather documents for attorneys and prepare witnesses scheduled for court hearings. Senior legal assistants must also arrange the delivery of subpoenas while preparing the required affidavit of service.
Executive legal assistants and senior legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Legal Assistant | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $53,442 | $51,102 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $75,000 | Between $36,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | PayPal | |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Professional |
There are a few differences between an executive legal assistant and a senior legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between executive legal assistants' and senior legal assistants' demographics:
| Executive Legal Assistant | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| 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, 8.3% 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% |