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Office manager and legal assistant vs senior legal assistant

The differences between office managers and legal assistant and senior legal assistants 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 senior legal assistant. Additionally, an office manager and legal assistant has an average salary of $56,303, which is higher than the $51,102 average annual salary of a senior legal assistant.

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

Office manager and legal assistant vs senior legal assistant overview

Office Manager And Legal AssistantSenior Legal Assistant
Yearly salary$56,303$51,102
Hourly rate$27.07$24.57
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs37,8389,152
Job satisfaction-5
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 senior legal assistant do?

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.

Office manager and legal assistant vs senior legal assistant salary

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

Office Manager And Legal AssistantSenior Legal Assistant
Average salary$56,303$51,102
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $76,000Between $36,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Pennsylvania
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between office manager and legal assistant and senior legal assistant education

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

Office Manager And Legal AssistantSenior Legal Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Office manager and legal assistant vs senior legal assistant demographics

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

Office Manager And Legal AssistantSenior Legal Assistant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 11.1% Female, 88.9%Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%
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 senior legal assistant 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.
  • Show more

Senior legal assistant example responsibilities.

  • Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
  • Handle collections, probate, estate planning, real estate and corporate work.
  • Interview witnesses, prepare declarations, and draft responses to interrogatories and requests for production.
  • Prepare lawsuits from complaint through judgment and garnishment for foreclosures, probate, and loss mitigation.
  • Develop numerous PowerPoint presentations for conferences and teachings.
  • Develop PowerPoint presentations, reports and legal documents.
  • Show more

Office manager and legal assistant vs senior legal assistant 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 senior legal assistant skills
  • Litigation, 15%
  • Legal Research, 7%
  • Legal Correspondence, 6%
  • Legal Support, 5%
  • Discovery Responses, 5%
  • Subpoenas, 5%