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Paralegal vs executive legal assistant

The differences between paralegals and executive 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 a paralegal and an executive legal assistant. Additionally, an executive legal assistant has an average salary of $53,442, which is higher than the $49,943 average annual salary of a paralegal.

The top three skills for a paralegal include litigation, legal research and law firm. The most important skills for an executive legal assistant are powerpoint, expense reports, and litigation.

Paralegal vs executive legal assistant overview

ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Yearly salary$49,943$53,442
Hourly rate$24.01$25.69
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs5,17772,148
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does a paralegal do?

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.

What does an executive legal assistant do?

An Executive Legal Assistant provides comprehensive support to lawyers and legal offices. They start as entry-level assistants before specializing in a field after a few years with experience; litigation, criminal law, family law, international law. Their duties include performing legal research by gathering case information for presentation, writing legal reports based on research and interviews, scheduling meetings, organizing travel arrangements, and organizing documentation for easy accessibility. An Executive Legal Assistant must be well organized, analytical research skills, and experience in case management. They typically spend long work hours spent in libraries and offices, requiring occasional travel.

Paralegal vs executive legal assistant salary

Paralegals and executive legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Average salary$49,943$53,442
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $70,000Between $37,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyArnall Golden GregoryPayPal
Best paying industryProfessionalTelecommunication

Differences between paralegal and executive legal assistant education

There are a few differences between a paralegal and an executive legal assistant in terms of educational background:

ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorLegal Support ServicesBusiness
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Paralegal vs executive legal assistant demographics

Here are the differences between paralegals' and executive legal assistants' demographics:

ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 22.4% Female, 77.6%Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between paralegal and executive legal assistant duties and responsibilities

Paralegal example responsibilities.

  • Manage client expenses and prepare billing and financial statements using PClaw and reconcile attorney's escrow and general accounts using QuickBooks.
  • Manage discovery process of lawsuits by preparing pleadings and subpoenas for records and answering requests for production and interrogatories.
  • Manage large volume of documents, enabling attorneys to easily identify key documents that are critical for mediation and arbitration.
  • Prepare H-1B petition with supporting evidence and supplementary forms for attorney review and filing with USCIS.
  • Conduct legal research on Lexis and factual inquiries regarding pending litigation.
  • Review Lexis Nexis for any and all relevant documents regarding hormone replacement litigation.
  • Show more

Executive legal assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage transactions involving the sale or purchase of publicly trade securities, both equity and debt instruments.
  • Manage litigation discovery process, including coordinating electronic and tangible document production, as well as litigation record hold obligations.
  • Provide administrative support to attorneys with mergers and acquisitions and due diligence procedures.
  • Prepare legal documents, assist clients with their legal needs, notary, general office duties
  • Complete & record minutes of meetings, using a variety of shorthand, or machine transcription.
  • Provide notary assistance as requested.
  • Show more

Paralegal vs executive legal assistant skills

Common paralegal skills
  • Litigation, 15%
  • Legal Research, 12%
  • Law Firm, 9%
  • Discovery Responses, 9%
  • Subpoenas, 5%
  • Trial Preparation, 5%
Common executive legal assistant skills
  • PowerPoint, 11%
  • Expense Reports, 9%
  • Litigation, 9%
  • Law Firm, 7%
  • Real Estate, 5%
  • Calendar Management, 4%