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Legal investigator vs bankruptcy specialist

The differences between legal investigators and bankruptcy specialists 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 a bankruptcy specialist. Additionally, a legal investigator has an average salary of $72,914, which is higher than the $35,498 average annual salary of a bankruptcy specialist.

The top three skills for a legal investigator include investigative reports, litigation and legal investigations. The most important skills for a bankruptcy specialist are relief, pacer, and foreclosure.

Legal investigator vs bankruptcy specialist overview

Legal InvestigatorBankruptcy Specialist
Yearly salary$72,914$35,498
Hourly rate$35.05$17.07
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs9,5824,381
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

What does a legal investigator do?

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.

What does a bankruptcy specialist do?

The bankruptcy specialist is responsible for filing and documentation loan bankruptcy materials with the appropriate attorneys. They ensure full compliance with loan bankruptcy regulations and monitor accounts throughout the loan bankruptcy process to contact the appropriate party when necessary. A bankruptcy specialist might be an administrator or lawyer in a bankruptcy office and supports bankruptcy law. They are likely to evaluate state declaration and affidavits for legal progression, interact with customers and outside counsel about bankruptcy proceedings through written and verbal communication, and work with local counsel and upper management in effectively reviewing client's files.

Legal investigator vs bankruptcy specialist salary

Legal investigators and bankruptcy specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal InvestigatorBankruptcy Specialist
Average salary$72,914$35,498
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $117,000Between $27,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City-Norfolk, VA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-The PNC Financial Services Group
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between legal investigator and bankruptcy specialist education

There are a few differences between a legal investigator and a bankruptcy specialist in terms of educational background:

Legal InvestigatorBankruptcy Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of RichmondStanford University

Legal investigator vs bankruptcy specialist demographics

Here are the differences between legal investigators' and bankruptcy specialists' demographics:

Legal InvestigatorBankruptcy Specialist
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 66.0% Female, 34.0%Male, 31.0% Female, 69.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between legal investigator and bankruptcy specialist duties and responsibilities

Legal investigator example responsibilities.

  • Create PowerPoint presentation used to train staff on managing copyright and trademark infringement risk.
  • Prepare trial exhibits, perform criminal background checks, and serve motions and subpoenas.
  • Work as a freelance investigator/legal researcher specializing in environmental and civil litigation.
  • Provide investigative services for large loss litigation cases, precedent case research and legal discovery analysis.
  • Conduct extensive research utilizing WestLaw and LexisNexis and summarize case law used for successful litigation to recover ERISA lien.
  • Assist with probate court and estates.
  • Show more

Bankruptcy specialist example responsibilities.

  • Achieve award for increasing efficiency by extensively communicating with debtors' attorneys and monitoring trustee activities on a daily basis.
  • Provide training and support to other analysts regarding negotiation of litigation and contest bankruptcy matters.
  • Prepare cases for litigation, facilitate appropriate management of attorneys to insure proper representation of bank.
  • Develop SEO marketing initiatives that range from keyword research to competitive analysis and generate weekly reports analyzing clients' traffic trends
  • Provide comprehensive counseling to consumers regarding affordable housing programs, first-time homebuyer programs, and post-purchase education.
  • Maintain up-to-date information on lending and homebuyer assistance programs, assist with evaluating the housing counseling services provide by stimulus monies.

Legal investigator vs bankruptcy specialist skills

Common legal investigator skills
  • Investigative Reports, 24%
  • Litigation, 18%
  • Legal Investigations, 16%
  • Conduct Interviews, 12%
  • Legal Research, 4%
  • Subpoenas, 3%
Common bankruptcy specialist skills
  • Relief, 8%
  • Pacer, 7%
  • Foreclosure, 6%
  • MSP, 5%
  • Bankruptcy Court, 4%
  • Debtor, 4%