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Legal adviser vs lawyer

The differences between legal advisers and lawyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a legal adviser and a lawyer. Additionally, a lawyer has an average salary of $115,808, which is higher than the $57,190 average annual salary of a legal adviser.

The top three skills for a legal adviser include litigation, legal advice and legal research. The most important skills for a lawyer are litigation, law firm, and legal issues.

Legal adviser vs lawyer overview

Legal AdviserLawyer
Yearly salary$57,190$115,808
Hourly rate$27.50$55.68
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs16,4962,897
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Legal adviser vs lawyer salary

Legal advisers and lawyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal AdviserLawyer
Average salary$57,190$115,808
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $99,000Between $64,000 And $208,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyNossamanNelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Best paying industry--

Differences between legal adviser and lawyer education

There are a few differences between a legal adviser and a lawyer in terms of educational background:

Legal AdviserLawyer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Legal adviser vs lawyer demographics

Here are the differences between legal advisers' and lawyers' demographics:

Legal AdviserLawyer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 53.1% Female, 46.9%Male, 48.5% Female, 51.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between legal adviser and lawyer duties and responsibilities

Legal adviser example responsibilities.

  • Prepare and distribute payroll manage daily office operations and equipment and maintain supplies for office to run effectively.
  • Draft and negotiate business-to-business SaaS contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and vendor agreements for domestic and international software platform transactions.
  • Aid in drafting arbitration reports, discovery requests, and responses to discovery requests.
  • Monitor issues surrounding corruption, cyber-crime and arbitration.
  • Conduct legal analysis of confidential pending international corporate environmental liability litigation.

Lawyer example responsibilities.

  • Participate in drafting legal documents and prepare business contracts, perform taxation duties for the enterprise and settle disputes with employees.
  • Handle all types of civil claims and provide notary services
  • Review of complaints relate to judicial ethics and employee misconduct.
  • Draft, proofread and ensure filing and service of criminal motions.
  • Draft a variety of pleadings and motions on behalf of the plaintiff.
  • Assist clients at the notary public office and negotiate licensing agreements for virtual data rooms.
  • Show more

Legal adviser vs lawyer skills

Common legal adviser skills
  • Litigation, 10%
  • Legal Advice, 10%
  • Legal Research, 8%
  • Legal Issues, 8%
  • International Law, 7%
  • Public Policy, 6%
Common lawyer skills
  • Litigation, 14%
  • Law Firm, 8%
  • Legal Issues, 7%
  • Real Estate, 6%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Civil Law, 5%