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The differences between legal specialists and senior legal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a legal specialist, becoming a senior legal assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a legal specialist has an average salary of $55,253, which is higher than the $51,102 average annual salary of a senior legal assistant.
The top three skills for a legal specialist include legal support, legal research and proofreading. The most important skills for a senior legal assistant are litigation, legal research, and legal correspondence.
| Legal Specialist | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $55,253 | $51,102 |
| Hourly rate | $26.56 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 6,517 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
Senior legal assistants are responsible for managing junior-level assistants. They also support lawyers with various legal tasks such as conducting legal research, drafting documents, and hearing trials. These assistants must work with attorneys and clients to review various legal documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness. They gather documents for attorneys and prepare witnesses scheduled for court hearings. Senior legal assistants must also arrange the delivery of subpoenas while preparing the required affidavit of service.
Legal specialists and senior legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Specialist | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $55,253 | $51,102 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $98,000 | Between $36,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Orrick | |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a legal specialist and a senior legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Legal Specialist | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between legal specialists' and senior legal assistants' demographics:
| Legal Specialist | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| 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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |