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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 | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $60,125 | $53,442 |
| Hourly rate | $28.91 | $25.69 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 4,213 | 72,148 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
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 paralegals and executive legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $60,125 | $53,442 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $92,000 | Between $37,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior paralegal and an executive legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior paralegals' and executive legal assistants' demographics:
| Senior Paralegal | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7% | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |