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Legal receptionist vs receptionist

The differences between legal receptionists and receptionists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a legal receptionist and a receptionist. Additionally, a legal receptionist has an average salary of $32,592, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a legal receptionist include law firm, paralegals and litigation. The most important skills for a receptionist are patients, phone calls, and customer service.

Legal receptionist vs receptionist overview

Legal ReceptionistReceptionist
Yearly salary$32,592$30,571
Hourly rate$15.67$14.70
Growth rate--
Number of jobs23,69965,671
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%High School Diploma, 33%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a legal receptionist do?

In law firms, a legal receptionist serves the clients' first point of contact. They are primarily in charge of greeting and professionally interacting with clients, identifying their needs, answering questions, and escorting visitors to offices. They must also perform clerical tasks such as handling calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, confirming schedules, maintaining records, managing the flow and deliveries of mails and other forms of documentation, and assisting attorneys as needed. Furthermore, a legal receptionist must manage the law firm's facilities, such as the lobby and meeting offices.

What does a receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

Legal receptionist vs receptionist salary

Legal receptionists and receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal ReceptionistReceptionist
Average salary$32,592$30,571
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $42,000Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateAlaskaMassachusetts
Best paying companyWingetGensler
Best paying industryProfessionalFinance

Differences between legal receptionist and receptionist education

There are a few differences between a legal receptionist and a receptionist in terms of educational background:

Legal ReceptionistReceptionist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%High School Diploma, 33%
Most common majorLegal Support ServicesBusiness
Most common college--

Legal receptionist vs receptionist demographics

Here are the differences between legal receptionists' and receptionists' demographics:

Legal ReceptionistReceptionist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 6.0% Female, 94.0%Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.9% Asian, 5.7% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between legal receptionist and receptionist duties and responsibilities

Legal receptionist example responsibilities.

  • Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
  • Establish accurate accounts for each guest upon check-in according to their requirements and ensure guest paperwork or documentation are filed appropriately.
  • Prepare outgoing correspondence with FedEx, and USPS.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations for use in court.
  • Distribute FedEx and mail, check and approve invoices for payment.
  • Assemble new hire notebooks and update new hire orientation PowerPoint presentations.
  • Show more

Receptionist example responsibilities.

  • Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
  • Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
  • Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
  • Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
  • Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
  • Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.
  • Show more

Legal receptionist vs receptionist skills

Common legal receptionist skills
  • Law Firm, 15%
  • Paralegals, 9%
  • Litigation, 9%
  • Telephone Calls, 8%
  • Phone Calls, 7%
  • Data Entry, 6%
Common receptionist skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Phone Calls, 14%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Data Entry, 9%
  • Telephone Calls, 8%
  • Front Desk, 8%

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