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The differences between legal administrators and staff 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 staff attorney takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a staff attorney has an average salary of $110,028, 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 staff attorney are litigation, legal services, and juris.
| Legal Administrator | Staff Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $47,198 | $110,028 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $52.90 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,419 | 75,402 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| 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.
Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.
Legal administrators and staff attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Administrator | Staff Attorney | |
| Average salary | $47,198 | $110,028 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $69,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal administrator and a staff attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Administrator | Staff Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal administrators' and staff attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Administrator | Staff Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |