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Legal compliance officer vs compliance specialist

The differences between legal compliance officers and compliance specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a legal compliance officer has an average salary of $91,936, which is higher than the $57,330 average annual salary of a compliance specialist.

The top three skills for a legal compliance officer include risk management, litigation and legal compliance. The most important skills for a compliance specialist are patients, regulatory compliance, and strong analytical.

Legal compliance officer vs compliance specialist overview

Legal Compliance OfficerCompliance Specialist
Yearly salary$91,936$57,330
Hourly rate$44.20$27.56
Growth rate10%6%
Number of jobs78,48034,610
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4646
Years of experience--

What does a legal compliance officer do?

The main duty of a Legal Compliance Officer is to ensure that a company is managed legally and ethically. They must guarantee that businesses are conducted in full compliance with all national and international laws.

What does a compliance specialist do?

The role of compliance specialists is to ensure that companies comply with relevant industry standards and regulations. Their duties may vary depending on the industry they work in, such as healthcare or banking. Tasks include reviewing their company's business practices to ensure they follow specific regulations, resolving compliance issues that may arise, and being up-to-date with regulatory changes. As a compliance specialist, you should have industry expertise, in-depth knowledge of regulations, and auditing skills.

Legal compliance officer vs compliance specialist salary

Legal compliance officers and compliance specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal Compliance OfficerCompliance Specialist
Average salary$91,936$57,330
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $161,000Between $38,000 And $85,000
Highest paying CityClifton, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyDelaware
Best paying companyCITGO PetroleumMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingPharmaceutical

Differences between legal compliance officer and compliance specialist education

There are a few differences between a legal compliance officer and a compliance specialist in terms of educational background:

Legal Compliance OfficerCompliance Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorLawBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityHarvard University

Legal compliance officer vs compliance specialist demographics

Here are the differences between legal compliance officers' and compliance specialists' demographics:

Legal Compliance OfficerCompliance Specialist
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 51.8% Female, 48.2%Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between legal compliance officer and compliance specialist duties and responsibilities

Legal compliance officer example responsibilities.

  • Manage outside counsel in litigation matters and coordinate internal requirements in connection with litigation.
  • Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
  • Review and respond to subpoenas.
  • Provide ethics training and counsel to mission employees.
  • Act in a professional manner with integrity, according to the legal code of ethics of Puerto Rico.
  • Direct the ship's legal activity, including delivery of subpoenas relate to both judicial and non-judicial proceedings.
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Compliance specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead bi-weekly Medicaid meetings to maintain effective communication with all staff regarding AHCA updates and notifications.
  • Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
  • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
  • Access the IDX system to obtain patient billing information in order to review Medicare and Medicaid payments.
  • Develop training materials to be used company-wide for regulatory mandate continuing education; create written policy manual for ethics and compliance.
  • Perform SOX control testing and validation.
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Legal compliance officer vs compliance specialist skills

Common legal compliance officer skills
  • Risk Management, 8%
  • Litigation, 7%
  • Legal Compliance, 5%
  • AML, 5%
  • Legal Issues, 4%
  • Legal Research, 4%
Common compliance specialist skills
  • Patients, 9%
  • Regulatory Compliance, 7%
  • Strong Analytical, 5%
  • FDA, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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