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The differences between legal administrators and senior legal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a legal administrator and a senior legal assistant. Additionally, a senior legal assistant has an average salary of $51,102, 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 senior legal assistant are litigation, legal research, and legal correspondence.
| Legal Administrator | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $51,102 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
Senior legal assistants are responsible for managing junior-level assistants. They also support lawyers with various legal tasks such as conducting legal research, drafting documents, and hearing trials. These assistants must work with attorneys and clients to review various legal documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness. They gather documents for attorneys and prepare witnesses scheduled for court hearings. Senior legal assistants must also arrange the delivery of subpoenas while preparing the required affidavit of service.
Legal administrators and senior legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $51,102 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $36,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and a senior legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between legal administrators' and senior legal assistants' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| 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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |