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The differences between paralegal interns and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a paralegal internship, becoming a legal extern takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a paralegal internship has an average salary of $52,476, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a paralegal internship include legal research, legal correspondence and trial preparation. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Paralegal Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $52,476 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $25.23 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 54,408 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Paralegal interns and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Paralegal Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $52,476 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $85,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a paralegal internship and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Paralegal Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Law |
| Most common college | Winona State University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between paralegal interns' and legal externs' demographics:
| Paralegal Internship | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.0% Female, 76.0% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| 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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |