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Senior attorney vs senior associate

The differences between senior attorneys and senior associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior attorney and a senior associate. Additionally, a senior attorney has an average salary of $111,002, which is higher than the $83,034 average annual salary of a senior associate.

The top three skills for a senior attorney include litigation, law firm and legal advice. The most important skills for a senior associate are project management, business development, and powerpoint.

Senior attorney vs senior associate overview

Senior AttorneySenior Associate
Yearly salary$111,002$83,034
Hourly rate$53.37$39.92
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs10,44554,601
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4644
Years of experience44

What does a senior attorney do?

A Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.

What does a senior associate do?

The Responsibilities of a Senior Associate will depend on the line of organization or industry. Most of the time, the duties will revolve around conducting various testing and assessments, planning and analysis, developing innovative solutions to boost company productivity, and keeping an organized flow of documentation. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of a Senior to Associate to lead a team of skilled professionals and shape them with extensive knowledge while adhering to its policies and regulations.

Senior attorney vs senior associate salary

Senior attorneys and senior associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior AttorneySenior Associate
Average salary$111,002$83,034
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $183,000Between $56,000 And $121,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyClifford ChanceSheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
Best paying industryProfessionalFinance

Differences between senior attorney and senior associate education

There are a few differences between a senior attorney and a senior associate in terms of educational background:

Senior AttorneySenior Associate
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorLawBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior attorney vs senior associate demographics

Here are the differences between senior attorneys' and senior associates' demographics:

Senior AttorneySenior Associate
Average age4644
Gender ratioMale, 60.1% Female, 39.9%Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 6.2% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 6.2% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%12%

Differences between senior attorney and senior associate duties and responsibilities

Senior attorney example responsibilities.

  • Manage and respond to corporate subpoenas including drafting appropriate objections and preparing witnesses for deposition.
  • Manage the death administration department with approximately thirty-five plus estates through trust administration, Medicaid estate recovery or probate.
  • Draft charging instruments, pleadings, subpoenas, consent agreements, orders and other documents pertaining to administrative enforcement litigation proceedings.
  • Experience litigation attorney, with emphasis on management of civil and matrimonial litigation, from initial interview through trial or settlement.
  • Communicate with client and insurance carriers concerning the progress of the litigation and provide recommendations regarding settlement or other claim resolution.
  • Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.
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Senior associate example responsibilities.

  • Ensure timely filing for all payer mix including, manage care, medicare and Medicaid.
  • Demonstrate work assessment and supervise the Midwest ISO in implementing a process driven model to achieve compliance against current energy tariff.
  • Lead team in successful internal implementation of integration of PeopleSoft with consultant billing system
  • Perform audit and reviews on diversify clientele involving examination of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and validating internal controls.
  • Conduct data analysis and visualization to support recommendation to shed the second largest business unit and return to core business model.
  • Audit and review appeals for medical necessity.
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Senior attorney vs senior associate skills

Common senior attorney skills
  • Litigation, 14%
  • Law Firm, 8%
  • Legal Advice, 8%
  • Juris, 7%
  • Legal Research, 7%
  • Legal Support, 4%
Common senior associate skills
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • PowerPoint, 5%
  • Financial Services, 3%
  • GAAP, 3%
  • Risk Management, 3%