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Office manager and legal assistant vs legal clerk

The differences between office managers and legal assistant 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 an office manager and legal assistant and a legal clerk. Additionally, an office manager and legal assistant has an average salary of $56,303, which is higher than the $35,152 average annual salary of a legal clerk.

The top three skills for an office manager and legal assistant include payroll, discovery responses and litigation. The most important skills for a legal clerk are litigation, legal correspondence, and subpoenas.

Office manager and legal assistant vs legal clerk overview

Office Manager And Legal AssistantLegal Clerk
Yearly salary$56,303$35,152
Hourly rate$27.07$16.90
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs37,83874,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does an office manager and legal assistant do?

An Office Manager and Legal Assistant is responsible for providing administrative assistance to legal staff in a law office. They also supervise firm hiring and payroll processes, as well as prepare budget reports for owners.

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.

Office manager and legal assistant vs legal clerk salary

Office managers and legal assistant and legal clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

Office Manager And Legal AssistantLegal Clerk
Average salary$56,303$35,152
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $76,000Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Diodes Incorporated
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between office manager and legal assistant and legal clerk education

There are a few differences between an office manager and legal assistant and a legal clerk in terms of educational background:

Office Manager And Legal AssistantLegal Clerk
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessLaw
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Office manager and legal assistant vs legal clerk demographics

Here are the differences between office managers and legal assistant' and legal clerks' demographics:

Office Manager And Legal AssistantLegal Clerk
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 11.1% Female, 88.9%Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.6% White, 60.2% 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 office manager and legal assistant and legal clerk duties and responsibilities

Office manager and legal assistant example responsibilities.

  • Gather and prepare documents for binders/notebooks for depositions, arbitration, hearings/trial; manage incoming document production mostly for litigation purposes.
  • Prepare all pleadings for family law cases, as well as document preparation for bankruptcy and probate cases.
  • Practice include plaintiff's personal injury, family law, criminal, real estate transactions, probate, corporate, collections.
  • Draft legal documents including correspondence, pleadings, interrogatories, subpoenas and affidavits.
  • Answer complaints, interrogatories and communicate with opposing counsel and insurance companies.
  • Gather and collect financial information through subpoenas providing summary of assets and liabilities.
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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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Office manager and legal assistant vs legal clerk skills

Common office manager and legal assistant skills
  • Payroll, 9%
  • Discovery Responses, 7%
  • Litigation, 6%
  • Legal Research, 5%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 5%
  • Real Estate Closings, 4%
Common legal clerk skills
  • Litigation, 13%
  • Legal Correspondence, 9%
  • Subpoenas, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Trial Preparation, 5%
  • Law Firm, 5%