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Law clerk vs internship

The differences between law clerks and interns can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a law clerk has an average salary of $55,916, which is higher than the $35,254 average annual salary of an internship.

The top three skills for a law clerk include litigation, legal issues and legal memos. The most important skills for an internship are powerpoint, financial statements, and C++.

Law clerk vs internship overview

Law ClerkInternship
Yearly salary$55,916$35,254
Hourly rate$26.88$16.95
Growth rate10%-5%
Number of jobs75,01451,064
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4147
Years of experience-2

What does a law clerk do?

Law clerks are employees in a legal firm who handle clerical tasks for the office. They handle the office's official phone lines, answering incoming calls, and making outgoing calls. They also field office correspondence, often receiving incoming mail and distributing them to their addressees. They manage office documents and ensure that they are correctly filed and labeled in their respective storage bins. Law clerks help make office life more comfortable because they make sure that the office is running well. They also manage appointments and office calendars.

What does an internship do?

Interns are trainees who are engaged by a company to work for them for a brief period. Interns usually use this opportunity to gain actual work experience, fulfill university or college requirements, and ensure that they are working towards the right career path for them. They sign on for a fixed amount of time. The responsibilities of interns depend on the company and the department that handles them. They do a variety of tasks that exposes them to the type of work that the company is engaged in and to the different aspects of the professional world.

Law clerk vs internship salary

Law clerks and interns have different pay scales, as shown below.

Law ClerkInternship
Average salary$55,916$35,254
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $114,000Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkAlaska
Best paying companyHughes Hubbard & ReedQorvo
Best paying industryProfessionalTelecommunication

Differences between law clerk and internship education

There are a few differences between a law clerk and an internship in terms of educational background:

Law ClerkInternship
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorLawBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityWestern Carolina University

Law clerk vs internship demographics

Here are the differences between law clerks' and interns' demographics:

Law ClerkInternship
Average age4147
Gender ratioMale, 52.5% Female, 47.5%Male, 42.0% Female, 58.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 8.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 10.3% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage13%6%

Differences between law clerk and internship duties and responsibilities

Law clerk example responsibilities.

  • Hire specifically to perform legal research and write memorandums on probate cases, particularly those involving litigation.
  • Conduct legal research, draft various legal documents, including complaints, social security/disability appeals, settlement demand letters and subpoenas.
  • Research and draft affirmations in support, arbitration contentions, discovery responses, and attorney correspondence for insurance fraud litigation firm.
  • Value securities by performing company valuations utilizing DCF and multiples methods.
  • Develop valuation ranges using precedent transaction, comparable company, and DCF analyses
  • Utilize LexisNexis and WestlawNext search databases to conduct legal research and data analysis.
  • Show more

Internship example responsibilities.

  • Lead enrollment process efficiently through securing proper registration forms, official transcripts, immunization records, and IEP documentation as needed.
  • Manage all company financial transactions through QuickBooks.
  • Design PHP application to automate schedule updating process.
  • Manage a web-base graphical interface that utilize a SQL database to better track fabrication lab operations.
  • Organize online recipe content through the blog, design flyers for it and spread the contest word through twitter and blog.
  • Develop sponsored post strategy for LinkedIn and Facebook.
  • Show more

Law clerk vs internship skills

Common law clerk skills
  • Litigation, 16%
  • Legal Issues, 7%
  • Legal Memos, 7%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 6%
  • Interrogatories, 4%
  • Summary Judgment, 3%
Common internship skills
  • PowerPoint, 10%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • C++, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
  • Facebook, 4%