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The differences between legal administrators and general counsels 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 general counsel takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a general counsel has an average salary of $125,248, 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 general counsel are litigation, legal issues, and legal advice.
| Legal Administrator | General Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $125,248 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $60.22 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 50,275 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| 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 general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.
Legal administrators and general counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | General Counsel | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $125,248 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $75,000 And $208,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Martin's Point Health Care |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and a general counsel in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | General Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal administrators' and general counsels' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | General Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% |
| 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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |