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Legal technician vs legal clerk

The differences between legal technicians and legal clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a legal technician and a legal clerk. Additionally, a legal technician has an average salary of $62,283, which is higher than the $35,152 average annual salary of a legal clerk.

The top three skills for a legal technician include litigation, sharepoint and legal research. The most important skills for a legal clerk are litigation, legal correspondence, and subpoenas.

Legal technician vs legal clerk overview

Legal TechnicianLegal Clerk
Yearly salary$62,283$35,152
Hourly rate$29.94$16.90
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs29,70074,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does a legal technician do?

A Legal Technician is a person who maintains and inspects all equipment by having a proper document, including the marking. They are responsible for ensuring that all duties and schedules will be on time. This career is for someone who has a clear vision since their task is to check the accuracy and equipment quality. They must have practical communication skills and suitable deductive and analytic types of reasoning, and know how to evaluate the product or machinery's information.

What does a legal clerk do?

A legal clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to legal offices and organizations to ensure smooth legal business operations. Legal clerks sort and distribute documents to the appropriate personnel, update information on the database, schedule appointments, respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, and document meeting objectives. They may also coordinate with other offices and institutions to acquire files and research data according to the needs of the managing department. A legal clerk must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in monitoring business transactions and submitting reports timely and accurately.

Legal technician vs legal clerk salary

Legal technicians and legal clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

Legal TechnicianLegal Clerk
Average salary$62,283$35,152
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $86,000Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCNew York, NY
Highest paying statePennsylvaniaNew York
Best paying companyAIGDiodes Incorporated
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between legal technician and legal clerk education

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

Legal TechnicianLegal Clerk
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessLaw
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Legal technician vs legal clerk demographics

Here are the differences between legal technicians' and legal clerks' demographics:

Legal TechnicianLegal Clerk
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 36.5% Female, 63.5%Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 5.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between legal technician and legal clerk duties and responsibilities

Legal technician example responsibilities.

  • Gather and prepare documents for binders/notebooks for depositions, arbitration, hearings/trial; manage incoming document production mostly for litigation purposes.
  • Collect medical records for attorneys, law enforcement, and court order subpoenas.
  • Prepare medical records for patients, physicians, subpoenas, copy services, etc.
  • Maintain and track litigation data, analyze data problems and recommend corrective action to senior legal systems staff.
  • Collect and prepare required documentation for answering interrogatories and drafting interrogatories for attorney review to be forward to opposing counsel.
  • Administer government policies and procedures in the resolution of litigation and other matters resulting from the closing of fail financial institutions.
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Legal clerk example responsibilities.

  • Complete accounting and payroll functions.- gather and process client documents.- manage daily operations of office.
  • Maintain and organize litigation materials; litigation management; process correspondence, and various clerical duties, including filing/copying/package assembly.
  • Process civil, probate and small claims cases, issue writs, abstracts, summons, defaults and judgments.
  • Assist or draft wills, power of attorney, revocable living trusts, probate, adoptions, ERISA and Medicaid eligibility.
  • Serve subpoenas and notice and draft related affidavits.
  • Conduct conference calls independently with clients to gather information to answer interrogatories.
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Legal technician vs legal clerk skills

Common legal technician skills
  • Litigation, 13%
  • SharePoint, 9%
  • Legal Research, 7%
  • SQL, 6%
  • Windows, 6%
  • Legal Support, 5%
Common legal clerk skills
  • Litigation, 13%
  • Legal Correspondence, 9%
  • Subpoenas, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 5%
  • Law Firm, 5%