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The differences between legal specialists and legal consultants 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 specialist and a legal consultant. Additionally, a legal consultant has an average salary of $75,024, which is higher than the $55,253 average annual salary of a legal specialist.
The top three skills for a legal specialist include legal support, legal research and proofreading. The most important skills for a legal consultant are litigation, regulatory compliance, and legal research.
| Legal Specialist | Legal Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $55,253 | $75,024 |
| Hourly rate | $26.56 | $36.07 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 6,517 | 16,118 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A legal specialist is responsible for supporting an organization's legal department or law office by performing administrative duties to assist legal operations. Legal specialists are the clients' first point-of-contact, especially on scheduling appointments and responding to legal services inquiries and concerns. They also organize legal documents, prepare and write contracts, and help legal professionals with collecting information for their cases. A legal specialist must have comprehensive knowledge of the legal industry, including law processes and federal regulations.
A legal consultant uses legal practice knowledge to enhance a law company's efficiency and profitability. Besides advising on the right solutions for customer productivity, marketing and development strategies, legal consultants also actively manage risks by consulting on program and legal-related issues. They help the parent law firm meet its objectives by analyzing problems and developing solutions. Other than negotiating, drafting, and reviewing legal documents, legal consultants also conduct legal research and analyze the right securities, insurance, and retirement plans.
Legal specialists and legal consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Specialist | Legal Consultant | |
| Average salary | $55,253 | $75,024 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $98,000 | Between $40,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Orrick | Alston & Bird |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal specialist and a legal consultant in terms of educational background:
| Legal Specialist | Legal Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal specialists' and legal consultants' demographics:
| Legal Specialist | Legal Consultant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.7% 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, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |