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The differences between legal investigators and 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 investigator and an attorney. Additionally, an attorney has an average salary of $109,476, 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 are litigation, legal research, and law firm.
| Legal Investigator | Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $72,914 | $109,476 |
| Hourly rate | $35.05 | $52.63 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 9,582 | 10,991 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 48% |
| 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.
Generally, an attorney's responsibility is to advise the client with an ongoing lawsuit on the legal procedures and provide strategies to resolve the case as early as possible. An attorney compiles necessary documents or any records for appeal and client's defense. Attorneys must acquire strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to mediate disputes and settle pending litigation for the client's best interest. In some cases, an attorney's procedure depends on any evidence and research presented during the trial period. An attorney is expected to present clients on legal proceedings, seeking justice and justifying the law.
Legal investigators and attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Investigator | Attorney | |
| Average salary | $72,914 | $109,476 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $117,000 | Between $69,000 And $172,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | White Plains, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Thompson Coburn |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a legal investigator and an attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Investigator | Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Law |
| Most common college | University of Richmond | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal investigators' and attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Investigator | Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% | Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1% |
| 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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |