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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 | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $49,943 | $53,442 |
| Hourly rate | $24.01 | $25.69 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 5,177 | 72,148 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
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.
Paralegals and executive legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $49,943 | $53,442 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $70,000 | Between $37,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Arnall Golden Gregory | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a paralegal and an executive legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between paralegals' and executive legal assistants' demographics:
| Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |