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The differences between intellectual property lawyers and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an intellectual property lawyer and a legal extern. Additionally, an intellectual property lawyer has an average salary of $82,730, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for an intellectual property lawyer include litigation, legal advice and due diligence. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $82,730 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $39.77 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 9,801 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An intellectual property (IP) lawyer is a licensed professional who is responsible for protecting a client's intellectual property as well as provide counseling about matters concerning intellectual property. Intellectual property lawyers are required to review or produce important documents and complete the analysis of highly technical materials. They prepare documents so that they can attain patents and trademarks for their client's intellectual property. Intellectual property lawyers are also required to defend businesses and individuals against the over-assertion of intellectual properties.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Intellectual property lawyers and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $82,730 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $168,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danvers, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | Seyfarth Shaw | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an intellectual property lawyer and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between intellectual property lawyers' and legal externs' demographics:
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |