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What does a research attorney do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

A research attorney researches laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court. They also review jury notes and opinions and judiciary notes. Their duties and responsibilities also include verifying that all files, complaints, or other papers are available and in the proper order.

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Research attorney responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real research attorney resumes:

  • Supervise and manage plaintiff's personal injury practice.
  • Conduct legal research for criminal trials and appeals.
  • Review and analyze deeds, leases, probate records, mortgages, mineral reservations, and other applicable legal instruments.
  • Focus on: personal injury, probate, estate planning, construction contracts and liens, domestic relations, etc.
  • Perform legal research and prepare research memos in various litigation matters.
  • Practice focuse in all areas of tort litigation including catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability.
  • Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.
  • Initiate discovery; take depositions, cross-examination witnesses.

Research attorney skills and personality traits

We calculated that 17% of Research Attorneys are proficient in Litigation, Legal Issues, and Legal Memoranda. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Research Attorneys that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Litigation, 17%

    Practice focused in all areas of tort litigation including catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability.

  • Legal Issues, 12%

    Conduct independent research regarding specific legal issues to assist judicial officers.

  • Legal Memoranda, 9%

    Conducted legal research; and *Wrote judicial opinions and legal memoranda

  • Appeals, 7%

    Prepare standardized research reports analyzing lower court decisions and making recommendations to Court of Appeals judges.

  • Legal Support, 5%

    Provided tactical legal support to Global Information Security teams in security breach reporting, investigation and management and client response.

  • Probate, 5%

    Reviewed and analyzed deeds, leases, probate records, mortgages, mineral reservations, and other applicable legal instruments.

Common skills that a research attorney uses to do their job include "litigation," "legal issues," and "legal memoranda." You can find details on the most important research attorney responsibilities below.

Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a research attorney to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what research attorneys do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a research attorney resume shows how research attorneys use analytical skills: "perform legal research and analysis of pending litigation in state and federal court. "

Interpersonal skills. Many research attorney duties rely on interpersonal skills. "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community.," so a research attorney will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways research attorney responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of research attorneys is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday research attorney duties, as "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "resolved queries from judicial officers and court staff on general legal issues regarding court matters. "

Research skills. For certain research attorney responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "research skills." The day-to-day duties of a research attorney rely on this skill, as "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what research attorneys do: "performed legal research and prepared research memos in various litigation matters. "

Most common research attorney skills

The three companies that hire the most research attorneys are:

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Compare different research attorneys

Research attorney vs. Assistant counsel

Assistant counsels are legal professionals who research and analyze various laws so they can apply them to the different legal issues that arose in a corporation. These counsels must develop an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage responses to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants. They advise other departments for legal claims related to the right of privacy and publicity as well as defamation. Assistant counsels are also required to act as labor attorneys for employees facing internal discrimination suits while dealing with FMLA, ERISA, and HIPAA issues.

We looked at the average research attorney salary and compared it with the wages of an assistant counsel. Generally speaking, assistant counsels are paid $30,925 lower than research attorneys per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both research attorney and assistant counsel positions are skilled in litigation, legal issues, and legal memoranda.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, research attorney responsibilities require skills like "appeals," "summary judgment," "court officials," and "court orders." Meanwhile a typical assistant counsel has skills in areas such as "strong work ethic," "legal advice," "excellent organizational," and "intellectual property." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Assistant counsels earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $70,495. On the other hand, research attorneys are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $94,930.The education levels that assistant counsels earn slightly differ from research attorneys. In particular, assistant counsels are 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a research attorney. Additionally, they're 36.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Research attorney vs. Bankruptcy specialist

The bankruptcy specialist is responsible for filing and documentation loan bankruptcy materials with the appropriate attorneys. They ensure full compliance with loan bankruptcy regulations and monitor accounts throughout the loan bankruptcy process to contact the appropriate party when necessary. A bankruptcy specialist might be an administrator or lawyer in a bankruptcy office and supports bankruptcy law. They are likely to evaluate state declaration and affidavits for legal progression, interact with customers and outside counsel about bankruptcy proceedings through written and verbal communication, and work with local counsel and upper management in effectively reviewing client's files.

On average, bankruptcy specialists earn a $56,656 lower salary than research attorneys a year.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, research attorney responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "legal issues," "legal memoranda," "appeals," and "legal support." Meanwhile, a bankruptcy specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Bankruptcy specialists may earn a lower salary than research attorneys, but bankruptcy specialists earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $47,222. On the other hand, research attorneys receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $94,930.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Bankruptcy specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than research attorneys. In fact, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 36.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Research attorney vs. General counsel

A general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.

On average scale, general counsels bring in higher salaries than research attorneys. In fact, they earn a $33,094 higher salary per year.By looking over several research attorneys and general counsels resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "litigation," "legal issues," and "legal memoranda." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, research attorneys are more likely to have skills like "appeals," "summary judgment," "court officials," and "court orders." But a general counsel is more likely to have skills like "legal advice," "intellectual property," "juris," and "risk management."

General counsels earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $135,018. Research attorneys earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $94,930.Most general counsels achieve a similar degree level compared to research attorneys. For example, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 11.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Research attorney vs. Council member

Council members tend to earn a lower pay than research attorneys by an average of $50,020 per year.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between research attorneys and council members, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a research attorney might have more use for skills like "litigation," "legal issues," "legal memoranda," and "appeals." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of council members require skills like "public policy," "finance committee," "community outreach," and "alumni. "

The average resume of council members showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to research attorneys. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 9.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 50.5%.

Types of research attorney

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.