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The differences between legal specialists and legal counsels 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 counsel. Additionally, a legal counsel has an average salary of $132,867, 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 counsel are legal advice, legal issues, and litigation.
| Legal Specialist | Legal Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $55,253 | $132,867 |
| Hourly rate | $26.56 | $63.88 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 6,517 | 10,337 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| 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 Counsel supervises the legal aspects of a business. They give accurate and timely counsel to executives on a variety of legal topics, such as labor law, partnerships, or international ventures.
Legal specialists and legal counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Specialist | Legal Counsel | |
| Average salary | $55,253 | $132,867 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $98,000 | Between $81,000 And $216,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Orrick | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a legal specialist and a legal counsel in terms of educational background:
| Legal Specialist | Legal Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between legal specialists' and legal counsels' demographics:
| Legal Specialist | Legal Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% |
| 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, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |