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The differences between legal investigators and attorneys at law 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 investigator and an attorney at law. Additionally, an attorney at law has an average salary of $108,018, which is higher than the $72,914 average annual salary of a legal investigator.
The top three skills for a legal investigator include investigative reports, litigation and legal investigations. The most important skills for an attorney at law are litigation, law firm, and legal research.
| Legal Investigator | Attorney At Law | |
| Yearly salary | $72,914 | $108,018 |
| Hourly rate | $35.05 | $51.93 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 9,582 | 7,025 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Legal investigators are professionals tasked with providing research, investigative services, and surveillance to the public, insurance companies, financial institutions, law firms, banks, and even local law enforcement agencies. They use methods and tools to uncover facts about financial, personal, and legal matters. This type of investigator must pay attention to analyzing details and evidence, but it will be difficult to know to begin. There is no need for formal education to be a legal investigator, one must take a legal investigator certificate course.
An Attorney at Law is responsible for preparing and examining contracts involving leases, licenses, purchases, sales, etc. They advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, or legal rights and obligations.
Legal investigators and attorneys at law have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Investigator | Attorney At Law | |
| Average salary | $72,914 | $108,018 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $117,000 | Between $69,000 And $166,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | White and Williams |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a legal investigator and an attorney at law in terms of educational background:
| Legal Investigator | Attorney At Law | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Law |
| Most common college | University of Richmond | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal investigators' and attorneys at law' demographics:
| Legal Investigator | Attorney At Law | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% | Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |