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The differences between legal counsels and lawyers 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 counsel and a lawyer. Additionally, a legal counsel has an average salary of $132,867, which is higher than the $115,808 average annual salary of a lawyer.
The top three skills for a legal counsel include legal advice, legal issues and litigation. The most important skills for a lawyer are litigation, law firm, and legal issues.
| Legal Counsel | Lawyer | |
| Yearly salary | $132,867 | $115,808 |
| Hourly rate | $63.88 | $55.68 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,337 | 2,897 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Legal Counsel supervises the legal aspects of a business. They give accurate and timely counsel to executives on a variety of legal topics, such as labor law, partnerships, or international ventures.
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
Legal counsels and lawyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Counsel | Lawyer | |
| Average salary | $132,867 | $115,808 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $216,000 | Between $64,000 And $208,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Apple | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a legal counsel and a lawyer in terms of educational background:
| Legal Counsel | Lawyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal counsels' and lawyers' demographics:
| Legal Counsel | Lawyer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 48.5% Female, 51.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |