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Legal analyst vs legal assistant

The differences between legal analysts and legal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a legal analyst, becoming a legal assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a legal analyst has an average salary of $57,497, which is higher than the $42,387 average annual salary of a legal assistant.

The top three skills for a legal analyst include legal research, litigation and powerpoint. The most important skills for a legal assistant are litigation, legal correspondence, and discovery responses.

Legal analyst vs legal assistant overview

Legal AnalystLegal Assistant
Yearly salary$57,497$42,387
Hourly rate$27.64$20.38
Growth rate10%14%
Number of jobs6,4789,560
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4646
Years of experience412

What does a legal analyst do?

A legal analyst is responsible for evaluating legal documents and reports to support and resolve legal matters by complying with state regulations and legislation procedures. Legal analysts compile researches to understand legal cases and coordinate with clients for in-depth counseling and executing necessary actions. They also attend court hearings and sessions to represent clients and investigate lawsuits. A legal analyst must have excellent knowledge of the law industry to examine legal contracts and assist clients with case resources.

What does a legal assistant do?

Legal assistants are responsible for doing most of the administrative or clerical needs of a lawyer. They support lawyers by preparing documents for hearings or trials, conducting research for legal cases, organizing files and records, managing schedules, manning phone lines, communicating with legal clients, documenting meeting minutes, and setting up appointments. It is important for legal assistants to have a basic knowledge of laws and the judiciary system so that they can provide better support to lawyers. They should also be detail-oriented, organized, and excellent communicators.

Legal analyst vs legal assistant salary

Legal analysts and legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal AnalystLegal Assistant
Average salary$57,497$42,387
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $98,000Between $30,000 And $58,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companySchiff HardinRoberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey Pc
Best paying industryAutomotiveProfessional

Differences between legal analyst and legal assistant education

There are a few differences between a legal analyst and a legal assistant in terms of educational background:

Legal AnalystLegal Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorLawLegal Support Services
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Legal analyst vs legal assistant demographics

Here are the differences between legal analysts' and legal assistants' demographics:

Legal AnalystLegal Assistant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 40.7% Female, 59.3%Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage10%9%

Differences between legal analyst and legal assistant duties and responsibilities

Legal analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage probate processes for estate, including rental arrangements and maintenance of apartments.
  • Apply previous years of relevant experience to independently manage the defense of auto and fixture relate general liability litigation.
  • Manage and provide responses to incoming subpoenas and discovery requests relating to underwriting files and policy and accounting information.
  • Create and execute test plans for troubleshooting issues during SharePoint migration.
  • Process payroll including quarterly and annual reporting.
  • Respond to third party subpoenas and implement company policy of cost recovery for addressing such subpoenas.
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Legal assistant example responsibilities.

  • Complete accounting and payroll functions.- gather and process client documents.- manage daily operations of office.
  • Manage document production with various internal departments for response to DCAA investigations and third party subpoenas.
  • Assist patent attorneys by managing invention disclosure documentation and relate correspondence with outside counsel and USPTO.
  • Relocate temporarily to Chicago, Illinois to facilitate and manage electronic discovery exchange in preparation for arbitration.
  • Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
  • Gather and prepare documents for binders/notebooks for depositions, arbitration, hearings/trial; manage incoming document production mostly for litigation purposes.
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Legal analyst vs legal assistant skills

Common legal analyst skills
  • Legal Research, 15%
  • Litigation, 10%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Legal Issues, 5%
  • Due Diligence, 4%
  • Subpoenas, 4%
Common legal assistant skills
  • Litigation, 12%
  • Legal Correspondence, 10%
  • Discovery Responses, 6%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Law Firm, 5%
  • Subpoenas, 5%