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Law clerk vs litigation attorney

The differences between law clerks and litigation attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a litigation attorney has an average salary of $109,027, which is higher than the $55,916 average annual salary of a law clerk.

The top three skills for a law clerk include litigation, legal issues and legal memos. The most important skills for a litigation attorney are litigation, law firm, and legal research.

Law clerk vs litigation attorney overview

Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Yearly salary$55,916$109,027
Hourly rate$26.88$52.42
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs75,0146,918
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Doctoral Degree, 53%
Average age4146
Years of experience-4

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 litigation attorney do?

A Litigation Attorney manages all phases of the litigation process from investigation and pleading to trial, settlement, and appeal. They also question witnesses, victims, and others involved in cases.

Law clerk vs litigation attorney salary

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

Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Average salary$55,916$109,027
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $114,000Between $69,000 And $172,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyHughes Hubbard & ReedPerkins Coie
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between law clerk and litigation attorney education

There are a few differences between a law clerk and a litigation attorney in terms of educational background:

Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Doctoral Degree, 53%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Law clerk vs litigation attorney demographics

Here are the differences between law clerks' and litigation attorneys' demographics:

Law ClerkLitigation Attorney
Average age4146
Gender ratioMale, 52.5% Female, 47.5%Male, 56.8% Female, 43.2%
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, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage13%10%

Differences between law clerk and litigation attorney 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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Litigation attorney example responsibilities.

  • Supervise and manage plaintiff's personal injury practice.
  • Develop litigation strategies including discovery, deposition, arbitration, and jury trial.
  • Draft internal memos, subpoenas and various discovery documents.
  • Direct and determine all aspects of plaintiff litigation and resolution strategy.
  • Review documents for FINRA arbitration concerning poaching of traders between inter-dealer brokers.
  • Respond to investigative subpoenas from U.S. government regulatory agencies requesting production of relevant client and third party material.
  • Show more

Law clerk vs litigation attorney skills

Common law clerk skills
  • Litigation, 16%
  • Legal Issues, 7%
  • Legal Memos, 7%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 6%
  • Interrogatories, 4%
  • Summary Judgment, 3%
Common litigation attorney skills
  • Litigation, 30%
  • Law Firm, 14%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Civil Litigation, 4%
  • Commercial Litigation, 3%
  • Insurance Defense, 3%