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The differences between legal administrators and contract 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 a contract attorney takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a contract attorney has an average salary of $97,474, 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 a contract attorney are litigation, e-discovery, and legal research.
| Legal Administrator | Contract Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $97,474 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $46.86 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 13,592 |
| 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.
A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency. Contract attorneys represent clients at court, assist with law proceedings, and advise clients for the necessary legal procedures. A contract attorney must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to manage client legal matters and expertise in traditional disciplines and processes.
Legal administrators and contract attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | Contract Attorney | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $97,474 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $60,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Ramon, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Perkins Coie |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and a contract attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | Contract 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 contract attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | Contract Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| 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, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |