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Legal consultant vs litigation associate

The differences between legal consultants and litigation associates 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 litigation associate. Additionally, a litigation associate has an average salary of $112,116, 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 litigation associate are litigation, law firm, and legal research.

Legal consultant vs litigation associate overview

Legal ConsultantLitigation Associate
Yearly salary$75,024$112,116
Hourly rate$36.07$53.90
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs16,1189,779
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 56%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

What does a legal consultant do?

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.

What does a litigation associate do?

A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.

Legal consultant vs litigation associate salary

Legal consultants and litigation associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal ConsultantLitigation Associate
Average salary$75,024$112,116
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $139,000Between $68,000 And $182,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWhite Plains, NY
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyAlston & BirdBryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between legal consultant and litigation associate education

There are a few differences between a legal consultant and a litigation associate in terms of educational background:

Legal ConsultantLitigation Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Doctoral Degree, 56%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Legal consultant vs litigation associate demographics

Here are the differences between legal consultants' and litigation associates' demographics:

Legal ConsultantLitigation Associate
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 49.0% Female, 51.0%Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between legal consultant and litigation associate duties and responsibilities

Legal consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage day-to-day legal affairs of NYSE list airline.
  • Experience includes analysis and advice regarding claims relate to exotic securities agreements.
  • Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.
  • Audit key financial and claim-relate regulatory processes including Medicare fraud.
  • Conduct discovery: documents productions, interrogatories, witness depositions.
  • Demonstrate expertise in preparing documents and discovery responses relate to interrogatories, request for admissions, and request for production.

Litigation associate example responsibilities.

  • Lead and assist in out-of-court resolution of actions including settlement negotiations, mediation, and arbitration.
  • Manage all aspects of motion practice and discovery in class and institutional actions involving residential mortgage-backed securities investments.
  • Represent immigrants in deportation proceedings, federal litigation and appeals.
  • Participate in complex commercial litigation group, with matters involving insurance, entertainment, products liability, utilities and investment banking.
  • Research various aspects of family law, civil procedure, and tort law.
  • Ensure business compliance with FDCPA, HIPAA, ADA, and various other regulations.
  • Show more

Legal consultant vs litigation associate skills

Common legal consultant skills
  • Litigation, 16%
  • Regulatory Compliance, 9%
  • Legal Research, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 5%
  • Client Relationships, 5%
  • Legal Issues, 5%
Common litigation associate skills
  • Litigation, 28%
  • Law Firm, 11%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Commercial Litigation, 5%
  • Discovery Motions, 3%
  • Insurance Coverage, 3%