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The differences between legal counsels and senior 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 counsel and a senior attorney. Additionally, a legal counsel has an average salary of $132,867, which is higher than the $111,002 average annual salary of a senior attorney.
The top three skills for a legal counsel include legal advice, legal issues and litigation. The most important skills for a senior attorney are litigation, law firm, and legal advice.
| Legal Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $132,867 | $111,002 |
| Hourly rate | $63.88 | $53.37 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,337 | 10,445 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| 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 Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.
Legal counsels and senior attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Average salary | $132,867 | $111,002 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $216,000 | Between $67,000 And $183,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Clifford Chance |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal counsel and a senior attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal counsels' and senior attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 60.1% Female, 39.9% |
| 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, 7.6% Asian, 6.2% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |