Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between public defenders and staff attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a public defender and a staff attorney. Additionally, a staff attorney has an average salary of $110,028, which is higher than the $69,052 average annual salary of a public defender.
The top three skills for a public defender include mental health, law enforcement and criminal cases. The most important skills for a staff attorney are litigation, legal services, and juris.
| Public Defender | Staff Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $69,052 | $110,028 |
| Hourly rate | $33.20 | $52.90 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 11,673 | 75,402 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 46% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Public Defenders have a career choice whose scope is simple but contains a complex educational background for the level of work involved. This position calls upon those with strong multitasking, interpersonal skills, and a great deal of confidence for the workload. To qualify for this position, a degree with a focus on criminal defense law is required. They are absolutely indispensable for an appointee in trials to represent people who would otherwise not be able to afford an attorney to defend themselves.
Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.
Public defenders and staff attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Defender | Staff Attorney | |
| Average salary | $69,052 | $110,028 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $98,000 | Between $69,000 And $173,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | United States Courts | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a public defender and a staff attorney in terms of educational background:
| Public Defender | Staff Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 46% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between public defenders' and staff attorneys' demographics:
| Public Defender | Staff Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |