Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between paralegal interns and corporate paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a paralegal internship and a corporate paralegal. Additionally, a corporate paralegal has an average salary of $67,515, which is higher than the $52,476 average annual salary of a paralegal internship.
The top three skills for a paralegal internship include legal research, legal correspondence and trial preparation. The most important skills for a corporate paralegal are litigation, corporate governance, and legal research.
| Paralegal Internship | Corporate Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $52,476 | $67,515 |
| Hourly rate | $25.23 | $32.46 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 54,408 | 13,482 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A paralegal intern is responsible for assisting the paralegal department of an organization, familiarizing with law standards and legal procedures, and applying law school knowledge on practical applications. Paralegal interns perform various administrative and clerical tasks under the supervision of tenured paralegal staff. They also assist with collecting and processing legal documents, observe court functions and procedures, respond to clients' inquiries and service requests, schedule appointments, research on court appeal cases, verify the accuracy of submitted documents, and coordinate with other law enforcement institutions.
A Corporate Paralegal helps attorneys gather information and materials in preparation for different kinds of cases, hearings, or meetings. They also work in the legal departments of large corporations and for government agencies.
Paralegal interns and corporate paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Paralegal Internship | Corporate Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $52,476 | $67,515 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $85,000 | Between $42,000 And $106,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a paralegal internship and a corporate paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Paralegal Internship | Corporate Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | Winona State University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between paralegal interns' and corporate paralegals' demographics:
| Paralegal Internship | Corporate Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.0% Female, 76.0% | Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 5.7% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 5.8% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |