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The differences between legal investigators and litigation associates 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 litigation associate. Additionally, a litigation associate has an average salary of $112,116, 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 a litigation associate are litigation, law firm, and legal research.
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $72,914 | $112,116 |
| Hourly rate | $35.05 | $53.90 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 9,582 | 9,779 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| 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.
A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.
Legal investigators and litigation associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Associate | |
| Average salary | $72,914 | $112,116 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $117,000 | Between $68,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | White Plains, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal investigator and a litigation associate in terms of educational background:
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Law |
| Most common college | University of Richmond | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal investigators' and litigation associates' demographics:
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Associate | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| 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, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |