Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between paralegals 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 a paralegal and a senior legal assistant. Additionally, a senior legal assistant has an average salary of $51,102, 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 a senior legal assistant are litigation, legal research, and legal correspondence.
| Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $49,943 | $51,102 |
| Hourly rate | $24.01 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 5,177 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
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.
Paralegals and senior legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $49,943 | $51,102 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $70,000 | Between $36,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Arnall Golden Gregory | |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a paralegal and a senior legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between paralegals' and senior legal assistants' demographics:
| Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| 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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |