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Solo practitioner vs legal extern

The differences between solo practitioners and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a solo practitioner and a legal extern. Additionally, a solo practitioner has an average salary of $97,581, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.

The top three skills for a solo practitioner include litigation, real estate transactions and probate. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.

Solo practitioner vs legal extern overview

Solo PractitionerLegal Extern
Yearly salary$97,581$47,238
Hourly rate$46.91$22.71
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs23,68010,986
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Solo practitioner vs legal extern salary

Solo practitioners and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.

Solo PractitionerLegal Extern
Average salary$97,581$47,238
Salary rangeBetween $60,000 And $157,000Between $23,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Jones Day
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between solo practitioner and legal extern education

There are a few differences between a solo practitioner and a legal extern in terms of educational background:

Solo PractitionerLegal Extern
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Solo practitioner vs legal extern demographics

Here are the differences between solo practitioners' and legal externs' demographics:

Solo PractitionerLegal Extern
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 58.3% Female, 41.7%Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between solo practitioner and legal extern duties and responsibilities

Solo practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Represent clients in foreclosure proceedings.
  • Establish client centered practice for homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure.
  • Handle all aspects of litigation including hearings on temporary orders, restraining order proceedings, pretrial discovery including depositions and trial.
  • Represent plaintiffs in securities class actions.
  • Litigate cases involving complex federal governmental statutory benefits programs such as ERISA and Medicare.

Legal extern example responsibilities.

  • Create PowerPoint presentation used to train staff on managing copyright and trademark infringement risk.
  • Research various aspects of criminal law; write inter-office memos defining the present juris prudence of issue research.
  • Train attorneys and librarians to use the Lexis-Nexis legal research system.
  • Proofread and edit attorney work product (grammar, usage, and content . )
  • Hire by criminal defense and plaintiff's personal injury attorneys on a case basis.
  • Proofread and edit legal documents for correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, format, and content.
  • Show more

Solo practitioner vs legal extern skills

Common solo practitioner skills
  • Litigation, 18%
  • Real Estate Transactions, 9%
  • Probate, 6%
  • Legal Research, 5%
  • Bench Trials, 5%
  • Criminal Defense, 5%
Common legal extern skills
  • Litigation, 12%
  • Legal Intern, 10%
  • Legal Issues, 9%
  • Legal Memos, 6%
  • Intellectual Property, 5%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 5%