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The differences between legal counsels and staff 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 staff attorney. Additionally, a legal counsel has an average salary of $132,867, which is higher than the $110,028 average annual salary of a staff attorney.
The top three skills for a legal counsel include legal advice, legal issues and litigation. The most important skills for a staff attorney are litigation, legal services, and juris.
| Legal Counsel | Staff Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $132,867 | $110,028 |
| Hourly rate | $63.88 | $52.90 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,337 | 75,402 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| 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.
Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.
Legal counsels and staff attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Counsel | Staff Attorney | |
| Average salary | $132,867 | $110,028 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $216,000 | Between $69,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal counsel and a staff attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Counsel | Staff Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal counsels' and staff attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Counsel | Staff Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |