Law secretary vs law clerk

The differences between law secretaries and law clerks 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 $39,445 average annual salary of a law secretary.

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

Law secretary vs law clerk overview

	Law Secretary	Law Clerk
Yearly salary	$39,445	$55,916
Hourly rate	$18.96	$26.88
Growth rate	-8%	10%
Number of jobs	9,261	75,014
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	54	41
Years of experience	4	-

Law secretary vs law clerk salary

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

	Law Secretary	Law Clerk
Average salary	$39,445	$55,916
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $77,000	Between $27,000 And $114,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Hughes Hubbard & Reed
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between law secretary and law clerk education

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

	Law Secretary	Law Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Law
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Law secretary vs law clerk demographics

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

	Law Secretary	Law Clerk
Average age	54	41
Gender ratio	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%	Male, 52.5% Female, 47.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 2.7% White, 71.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%
LGBT Percentage	15%	13%

Differences between law secretary and law clerk duties and responsibilities

Law secretary example responsibilities.

Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
Perform secretarial functions including expense reports, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and correspondence.
Handle subpoenas, set up depositions, maintain billing to clients and other various responsibilities.
Answer and propound discovery/mandatory disclosure/financial affidavits.
Answer and propound discovery/mandatory disclosure/financial affidavits.

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.

Law secretary vs law clerk skills

Common law secretary skills

Scheduling Appointments, 25%
Litigation, 20%
Law Firm, 13%
Court Dates, 11%
Subpoenas, 7%
Real Estate, 3%

Common law clerk skills

Litigation, 16%
Legal Issues, 7%
Legal Memos, 7%
Pre-Trial Motions, 6%
Interrogatories, 4%
Summary Judgment, 3%