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The differences between legal consultants and paralegals 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 consultant, becoming a paralegal takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a legal consultant has an average salary of $75,024, which is higher than the $49,943 average annual salary of a paralegal.
The top three skills for a legal consultant include litigation, regulatory compliance and legal research. The most important skills for a paralegal are litigation, legal research, and law firm.
| Legal Consultant | Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $75,024 | $49,943 |
| Hourly rate | $36.07 | $24.01 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 16,118 | 5,177 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
Paralegals are law firm or legal department employees who work on cases with lawyers. They handle different activities, usually administrative or clerical, such as organizing and maintaining files, updating records, and managing correspondences, among others. Paralegals also handle different activities directly related to active cases being worked on by lawyers in the firm or department. They assist lawyers on cases by preparing materials needed for trials, conducting legal research, verifying trial facts, helping during interviews, getting statements from those involved in the case, and creating presentation materials. Paralegals should have knowledge of laws and should be familiar with landmark cases.
Legal consultants and paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Consultant | Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $75,024 | $49,943 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $139,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Alston & Bird | Arnall Golden Gregory |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal consultant and a paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Legal Consultant | Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Law | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between legal consultants' and paralegals' demographics:
| Legal Consultant | Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |