Legal administrators provide administrative functions and support for lawyers and paralegals of a legal establishment. It is your responsibility to transcribe and proofread legal documents. You will also process invoices, schedule court hearings as well as client meetings.
Legal administrators greet visitors, answer phone calls, carry out legal research, interact with solicitors and manage schedules. You are also responsible for the supervision of other members of the administrative staff, order of supplies, and oversee office arrangements.
The minimum educational requirement for this ole is a diploma in administrative studies or other related fields. Familiarity with legal terminologies and processes is a key requirement.
As a legal administrator, you are required to be very organized, professional, and courteous. You should be a good team player, be able to multitask and prioritize. Proficiency with word processing software like Microsoft Office is also an essential skill. The average annual salary of legal administrators is $53,752.
What is a Legal Administrator?
What Does a Legal Administrator Do
There are certain skills that many legal administrators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, computer skills and organizational skills.
How To Become a Legal Administrator
If you're interested in becoming a legal administrator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 55.2% of legal administrators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.1% of legal administrators have master's degrees. Even though most legal administrators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Legal Administrator Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of office manager you might progress to a role such as human resources manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title human resources vice president.
Average Salary for a Legal Administrator
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Legal Administrator Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active legal administrator jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where legal administrators earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Legal Administrator Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 2,957 | $52,738 |
| 2 | Texas | 1,844 | $52,317 |
| 3 | Florida | 1,616 | $38,912 |
| 4 | New York | 1,137 | $60,622 |
| 5 | Illinois | 976 | $43,385 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 910 | $53,259 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 890 | $59,033 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 818 | $37,189 |
| 9 | Colorado | 811 | $56,975 |
| 10 | Georgia | 811 | $41,173 |
| 11 | Washington | 753 | $51,035 |
| 12 | Arizona | 708 | $40,408 |
| 13 | Ohio | 701 | $38,739 |
| 14 | New Jersey | 605 | $57,943 |
| 15 | Minnesota | 554 | $47,374 |
| 16 | Michigan | 541 | $46,345 |
| 17 | Missouri | 435 | $35,873 |
| 18 | Indiana | 414 | $34,212 |
| 19 | Alabama | 403 | $40,719 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 400 | $39,761 |
| 21 | Oregon | 396 | $50,139 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 392 | $40,264 |
| 23 | Utah | 343 | $45,811 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 327 | $36,601 |
| 25 | Connecticut | 253 | $51,273 |
| 26 | Iowa | 237 | $40,297 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 223 | $42,047 |
| 28 | Kansas | 212 | $38,950 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | 181 | $38,243 |
| 30 | New Mexico | 172 | $42,007 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 172 | $39,625 |
| 32 | Nebraska | 171 | $42,877 |
| 33 | Nevada | 168 | $49,940 |
| 34 | Arkansas | 163 | $36,530 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | 156 | $55,667 |
| 36 | Mississippi | 144 | $44,074 |
| 37 | Idaho | 134 | $44,117 |
| 38 | West Virginia | 131 | $47,791 |
| 39 | Alaska | 112 | $51,556 |
| 40 | Rhode Island | 111 | $48,648 |
| 41 | Virginia | 107 | $52,460 |
| 42 | Montana | 99 | $40,375 |
| 43 | North Dakota | 98 | $42,456 |
| 44 | Delaware | 95 | $51,229 |
| 45 | Hawaii | 95 | $47,094 |
| 46 | Maine | 94 | $43,440 |
| 47 | Vermont | 77 | $45,186 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 69 | $43,795 |
| 49 | Maryland | 68 | $46,493 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 56 | $37,087 |
Top Colleges for Legal Administrators
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
4. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
7. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
9. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
10. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Top Skills For a Legal Administrator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.4% of legal administrators listed veterans on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and computer skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Legal Administrator Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Legal Administrator templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Legal Administrator resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Legal Administrator Demographics
Legal Administrator Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among legal administrators, 71.8% of them are women, while 28.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among legal administrators is White, which makes up 65.2% of all legal administrators.
- The most common foreign language among legal administrators is Spanish at 57.4%.
Work Experience Programs For Legal Administrators
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Herbert Smith Freehills
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6.5 hours
Company: MinterEllison
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Latham & Watkins
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: ANZ Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: NSW Government Virtual Program
Cost: Free
Duration: 1-2 hours
Company: Matheson LLP (“Matheson”)
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Online Courses For Legal Administrator That You May Like
Learn from Lawyers - Learn the CORRECT use of articles, prepositions, legal terms & start writing your letter!...
Best States For a Legal Administrator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a legal administrator. The best states for people in this position are New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Colorado. Legal administrators make the most in New York with an average salary of $60,622. Whereas in Massachusetts and New Jersey, they would average $59,033 and $57,943, respectively. While legal administrators would only make an average of $56,975 in Colorado, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Colorado
$56,975
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$59,033
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$60,622
Avg. Salary
How Do Legal Administrator Rate Their Jobs?
Top Legal Administrator Employers
Most Common Employers For Legal Administrator
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Citi | $80,058 | $38.49 | 5 |
| 2 | Novo Nordisk | $71,837 | $34.54 | 4 |
| 3 | Amgen | $66,606 | $32.02 | 5 |
| 4 | General Electric | $61,376 | $29.51 | 4 |
| 5 | Boeing | $58,359 | $28.06 | 4 |
| 6 | U.S. Office of Personnel Management | $57,338 | $27.57 | 6 |
| 7 | Delaware State Government | $55,072 | $26.48 | 5 |
| 8 | Washington State University | $55,012 | $26.45 | 6 |
| 9 | King County | $54,671 | $26.28 | 10 |
| 10 | Social Security Administration | $54,266 | $26.09 | 92 |