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The differences between office managers and legal assistant and paralegals 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 paralegal. Additionally, an office manager and legal assistant has an average salary of $56,303, which is higher than the $49,943 average annual salary of a paralegal.
The top three skills for an office manager and legal assistant include payroll, discovery responses and litigation. The most important skills for a paralegal are litigation, legal research, and law firm.
| Office Manager And Legal Assistant | Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $56,303 | $49,943 |
| Hourly rate | $27.07 | $24.01 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 37,838 | 5,177 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
Paralegals are law firm or legal department employees who work on cases with lawyers. They handle different activities, usually administrative or clerical, such as organizing and maintaining files, updating records, and managing correspondences, among others. Paralegals also handle different activities directly related to active cases being worked on by lawyers in the firm or department. They assist lawyers on cases by preparing materials needed for trials, conducting legal research, verifying trial facts, helping during interviews, getting statements from those involved in the case, and creating presentation materials. Paralegals should have knowledge of laws and should be familiar with landmark cases.
Office managers and legal assistant and paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Manager And Legal Assistant | Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $56,303 | $49,943 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $76,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Arnall Golden Gregory |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an office manager and legal assistant and a paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Office Manager And Legal Assistant | Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between office managers and legal assistant' and paralegals' demographics:
| Office Manager And Legal Assistant | Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.1% Female, 88.9% | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |