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The differences between law interns and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a legal extern has an average salary of $47,238, which is higher than the $39,394 average annual salary of a law internship.
The top three skills for a law internship include litigation, legal issues and trial preparation. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Law Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $39,394 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $18.94 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 51,663 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A law internship is a program that is designed for law students to give them valuable insight into the professional lives of attorneys and judges. Law interns need to understand and observe what being a lawyer involves. They are required to conduct research and present it to their superiors for case preparations. They must assist their senior lawyers in organizing all of their legal paperwork that includes case files, evidence records, and legal documents. Law interns are also required to be present in the courtroom to assist lawyers and experience actual courtroom proceedings.
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.
Law interns and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Law Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $39,394 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $63,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | NAIC | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a law internship and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Law Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between law interns' and legal externs' demographics:
| Law Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 41 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 5.6% 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% |