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The differences between judicial law clerks and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a judicial law clerk has an average salary of $54,006, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a judicial law clerk include legal issues, district court and litigation. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Judicial Law Clerk | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $54,006 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $25.96 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 67,469 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A Judicial Law Clerk assists judges in court by conducting research and preparing legal documents. They respond to phone calls and written inquiries from the public and from attorneys.
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.
Judicial law clerks and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Judicial Law Clerk | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $54,006 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $86,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | Wright, Constable & Skeen | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a judicial law clerk and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Judicial Law Clerk | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between judicial law clerks' and legal externs' demographics:
| Judicial Law Clerk | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 41 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 7.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 8.4% White, 55.5% 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 | 13% | 10% |