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Law clerk vs legal administrator

The differences between law clerks and legal administrators 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 $47,198 average annual salary of a legal administrator.

The top three skills for a law clerk include litigation, legal issues and legal memos. The most important skills for a legal administrator are veterans, litigation, and powerpoint.

Law clerk vs legal administrator overview

Law ClerkLegal Administrator
Yearly salary$55,916$47,198
Hourly rate$26.88$22.69
Growth rate10%14%
Number of jobs75,01456,419
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4146
Years of experience-12

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 a legal administrator do?

The job of legal administrative assistants is to provide support to lawyers and paralegals. They typically perform legal research, manage schedules, and draft legal-related documents. Other duties include interpreting laws, regulations, and rulings in legal documents, obtaining information from other agencies or organizations, and preparing management and legal reports. In addition, legal administrative assistants are responsible for updating and maintaining databases and ensuring to provide effective administrative assistance. They are also expected to schedule client meetings and court hearings.

Law clerk vs legal administrator salary

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

Law ClerkLegal Administrator
Average salary$55,916$47,198
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $114,000Between $33,000 And $66,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyHughes Hubbard & ReedRopes & Gray
Best paying industryProfessionalGovernment

Differences between law clerk and legal administrator education

There are a few differences between a law clerk and a legal administrator in terms of educational background:

Law ClerkLegal Administrator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorLawBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Law clerk vs legal administrator demographics

Here are the differences between law clerks' and legal administrators' demographics:

Law ClerkLegal Administrator
Average age4146
Gender ratioMale, 52.5% Female, 47.5%Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%
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, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage13%9%

Differences between law clerk and legal administrator 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.
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Legal administrator example responsibilities.

  • Prepare and distribute payroll manage daily office operations and equipment and maintain supplies for office to run effectively.
  • Provide information regarding the rules and regulations of the DMV.
  • Proofread legal applications to ensure that all information have been properly submit.
  • Prepare probate and estate documents, accounting statements, and estate tax returns.
  • Determine adequacy and propriety of surety bonds to protect the assets of the beneficiary.
  • Determine a person's eligibility to possess firearms or explosives in accordance with federal law.
  • Show more

Law clerk vs legal administrator skills

Common law clerk skills
  • Litigation, 16%
  • Legal Issues, 7%
  • Legal Memos, 7%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 6%
  • Interrogatories, 4%
  • Summary Judgment, 3%
Common legal administrator skills
  • Veterans, 10%
  • Litigation, 10%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Law Firm, 5%
  • Legal Research, 5%
  • Management System, 4%