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The differences between legal consultants and contract attorneys 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 consultant and a contract attorney. Additionally, a contract attorney has an average salary of $97,474, which is higher than the $75,024 average annual salary of a legal consultant.
The top three skills for a legal consultant include litigation, regulatory compliance and legal research. The most important skills for a contract attorney are litigation, e-discovery, and legal research.
| Legal Consultant | Contract Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $75,024 | $97,474 |
| Hourly rate | $36.07 | $46.86 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 16,118 | 13,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A legal consultant uses legal practice knowledge to enhance a law company's efficiency and profitability. Besides advising on the right solutions for customer productivity, marketing and development strategies, legal consultants also actively manage risks by consulting on program and legal-related issues. They help the parent law firm meet its objectives by analyzing problems and developing solutions. Other than negotiating, drafting, and reviewing legal documents, legal consultants also conduct legal research and analyze the right securities, insurance, and retirement plans.
A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency. Contract attorneys represent clients at court, assist with law proceedings, and advise clients for the necessary legal procedures. A contract attorney must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to manage client legal matters and expertise in traditional disciplines and processes.
Legal consultants and contract attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Consultant | Contract Attorney | |
| Average salary | $75,024 | $97,474 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $139,000 | Between $60,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Ramon, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Alston & Bird | Perkins Coie |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a legal consultant and a contract attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Consultant | Contract Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal consultants' and contract attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Consultant | Contract Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% 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, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |