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The differences between legal administrators and associate attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a legal administrator, becoming an associate attorney takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an associate attorney has an average salary of $110,053, which is higher than the $47,198 average annual salary of a legal administrator.
The top three skills for a legal administrator include veterans, litigation and powerpoint. The most important skills for an associate attorney are litigation, law firm, and discovery responses.
| Legal Administrator | Associate Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $110,053 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $52.91 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 9,183 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
An associate attorney's role is to provide legal counseling to an individual or business entity, resolve legal disputes through crafting agreements and negotiating contract terms, and serving as an advisor or advocate. Most associate attorneys work at law firms or government agencies, supervised by more experienced personnel. Among the duties of an associate attorney includes conducting extensive research on every case, presenting factual evidence and statements, producing the legal and necessary documentation, and representing clients in formal settings.
Legal administrators and associate attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | Associate Attorney | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $110,053 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $70,000 And $170,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Schiff Hardin |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and an associate attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | Associate Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal administrators' and associate attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | Associate Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |