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Senior paralegal vs executive legal assistant

The differences between senior 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 senior paralegal and an executive legal assistant. Additionally, a senior paralegal has an average salary of $60,125, which is higher than the $53,442 average annual salary of an executive legal assistant.

The top three skills for a senior paralegal include legal research, litigation and law firm. The most important skills for an executive legal assistant are powerpoint, expense reports, and litigation.

Senior paralegal vs executive legal assistant overview

Senior ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Yearly salary$60,125$53,442
Hourly rate$28.91$25.69
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs4,21372,148
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does a senior paralegal do?

A Senior Paralegal helps attorneys acquire the information needed for legal research, document preparation, and for other assignments delegated to them. They are usually specialized in certain areas of law, such as tax law.

What does an executive legal assistant do?

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.

Senior paralegal vs executive legal assistant salary

Senior paralegals and executive legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Average salary$60,125$53,442
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $92,000Between $37,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyAmazonPayPal
Best paying industryFinanceTelecommunication

Differences between senior paralegal and executive legal assistant education

There are a few differences between a senior paralegal and an executive legal assistant in terms of educational background:

Senior ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorLegal Support ServicesBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior paralegal vs executive legal assistant demographics

Here are the differences between senior paralegals' and executive legal assistants' demographics:

Senior ParalegalExecutive Legal Assistant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 23.3% Female, 76.7%Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 5.6% White, 60.3% 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between senior paralegal and executive legal assistant duties and responsibilities

Senior paralegal example responsibilities.

  • Achieve sole responsibility for administration of all estates and guardianships.
  • Respond to active litigation in collaboration with internal custodians and external counsel, including responding to discovery requests and subpoenas.
  • Handle all corporate matters including annual shareholder documentation and shareholder meetings, prepare contracts and coordinate execution, and provide litigation support
  • Edit and proofread initial drafts, transcribes dictation and perform cite checking, copy assembly/attachments for filing and/or mailing.
  • Draft and prepare legal documents, correspondence, corporate resolutions and UCC's, together with file maintenance and organization.
  • Position entail all secretarial correspondence, dictation, expense reporting, record keeping and the handling of settlement documents and payments.
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Executive legal assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage transactions involving the sale or purchase of publicly trade securities, both equity and debt instruments.
  • Manage litigation discovery process, including coordinating electronic and tangible document production, as well as litigation record hold obligations.
  • Provide administrative support to attorneys with mergers and acquisitions and due diligence procedures.
  • Prepare legal documents, assist clients with their legal needs, notary, general office duties
  • Complete & record minutes of meetings, using a variety of shorthand, or machine transcription.
  • Provide notary assistance as requested.
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Senior paralegal vs executive legal assistant skills

Common senior paralegal skills
  • Legal Research, 13%
  • Litigation, 13%
  • Law Firm, 7%
  • Subpoenas, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Lexis, 3%
Common executive legal assistant skills
  • PowerPoint, 11%
  • Expense Reports, 9%
  • Litigation, 9%
  • Law Firm, 7%
  • Real Estate, 5%
  • Calendar Management, 4%