Expert witness vs paralegal

The differences between expert witnesses and paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an expert witness, becoming a paralegal takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an expert witness has an average salary of $65,959, which is higher than the $49,943 average annual salary of a paralegal.

The top three skills for an expert witness include arbitration, litigation and trial preparation. The most important skills for a paralegal are litigation, legal research, and law firm.

Expert witness vs paralegal overview

	Expert Witness	Paralegal
Yearly salary	$65,959	$49,943
Hourly rate	$31.71	$24.01
Growth rate	11%	14%
Number of jobs	12,534	5,177
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	4	12

Expert witness vs paralegal salary

Expert witnesses and paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Expert Witness	Paralegal
Average salary	$65,959	$49,943
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $95,000	Between $35,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Arnall Golden Gregory
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between expert witness and paralegal education

There are a few differences between an expert witness and a paralegal in terms of educational background:

	Expert Witness	Paralegal
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Nursing	Legal Support Services
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Harvard University

Expert witness vs paralegal demographics

Here are the differences between expert witnesses' and paralegals' demographics:

	Expert Witness	Paralegal
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 9.8% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	9%

Differences between expert witness and paralegal duties and responsibilities

Expert witness example responsibilities.

Deliver PowerPoint presentations to various legal groups with regard to managing discovery.
Provide expert witness services (plaintiff and defendant) to attorneys and their clients nationwide, relevant to employment practice claims.
Defend opinion atArbitration resulting in successful outcome for the plaintiff.
Assist with preparation of arbitration and trial examination and cross examination.
Assist companies and their attorneys in litigation procedures and abatement verification.
Organize litigation support records, prepare contracts, and verify banking information.

Paralegal example responsibilities.

Manage client expenses and prepare billing and financial statements using PClaw and reconcile attorney's escrow and general accounts using QuickBooks.
Manage discovery process of lawsuits by preparing pleadings and subpoenas for records and answering requests for production and interrogatories.
Manage large volume of documents, enabling attorneys to easily identify key documents that are critical for mediation and arbitration.
Prepare H-1B petition with supporting evidence and supplementary forms for attorney review and filing with USCIS.
Conduct legal research on Lexis and factual inquiries regarding pending litigation.
Review Lexis Nexis for any and all relevant documents regarding hormone replacement litigation.

Expert witness vs paralegal skills

Common expert witness skills

Arbitration, 21%
Litigation, 13%
Trial Preparation, 7%
Child Abuse, 6%
Private Practice, 6%
Mental Health, 6%

Common paralegal skills

Litigation, 15%
Legal Research, 12%
Law Firm, 9%
Discovery Responses, 9%
Subpoenas, 5%
Trial Preparation, 5%