Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between tax attorneys and contract attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a tax attorney and a contract attorney. Additionally, a contract attorney has an average salary of $97,474, which is higher than the $85,681 average annual salary of a tax attorney.
The top three skills for a tax attorney include litigation, law firm and real estate. The most important skills for a contract attorney are litigation, e-discovery, and legal research.
| Tax Attorney | Contract Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $85,681 | $97,474 |
| Hourly rate | $41.19 | $46.86 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 33,760 | 13,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 42% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A tax attorney specializes in assisting clients in understanding tax laws. Their responsibilities typically revolve around conducting extensive research, meeting with clients to conduct initial assessments and interviews, understanding their needs, and helping them make business decisions by providing legal taxation advice. A tax attorney may also help clients to find ways to minimize their tax deductions. Furthermore, aside from working with individuals, a tax attorney may also work for companies as part of their legal team.
A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency. Contract attorneys represent clients at court, assist with law proceedings, and advise clients for the necessary legal procedures. A contract attorney must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to manage client legal matters and expertise in traditional disciplines and processes.
Tax attorneys and contract attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tax Attorney | Contract Attorney | |
| Average salary | $85,681 | $97,474 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $146,000 | Between $60,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Ramon, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Perkins Coie |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a tax attorney and a contract attorney in terms of educational background:
| Tax Attorney | Contract Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 42% | Doctoral Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between tax attorneys' and contract attorneys' demographics:
| Tax Attorney | Contract Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |