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The differences between legal investigators and litigation 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 a litigation attorney. Additionally, a litigation attorney has an average salary of $109,027, 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 attorney are litigation, law firm, and legal research.
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $72,914 | $109,027 |
| Hourly rate | $35.05 | $52.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 9,582 | 6,918 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| 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 Attorney manages all phases of the litigation process from investigation and pleading to trial, settlement, and appeal. They also question witnesses, victims, and others involved in cases.
Legal investigators and litigation attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Attorney | |
| Average salary | $72,914 | $109,027 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $117,000 | Between $69,000 And $172,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Perkins Coie |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal investigator and a litigation attorney in terms of educational background:
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Law |
| Most common college | University of Richmond | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal investigators' and litigation attorneys' demographics:
| Legal Investigator | Litigation Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% | Male, 56.8% Female, 43.2% |
| 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, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |