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The differences between legal administrators and legal consultants 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 legal consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a legal consultant has an average salary of $75,024, 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 legal consultant are litigation, regulatory compliance, and legal research.
| Legal Administrator | Legal Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $75,024 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $36.07 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 16,118 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| 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 legal consultant uses legal practice knowledge to enhance a law company's efficiency and profitability. Besides advising on the right solutions for customer productivity, marketing and development strategies, legal consultants also actively manage risks by consulting on program and legal-related issues. They help the parent law firm meet its objectives by analyzing problems and developing solutions. Other than negotiating, drafting, and reviewing legal documents, legal consultants also conduct legal research and analyze the right securities, insurance, and retirement plans.
Legal administrators and legal consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | Legal Consultant | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $75,024 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $40,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Alston & Bird |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and a legal consultant in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | Legal Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal administrators' and legal consultants' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | Legal Consultant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% |
| 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% |