Career Atlas

Lawyers vs Paralegals & Legal Assistants

Compare Lawyers and Paralegals & Legal Assistants side by side: median pay, job outlook, AI exposure, education, and top skills. Lawyers pays about $97k…

Lawyers

Median pay$160k
OutlookGrowing fast
AI exposureHigh 84%, modeled
EducationDoctoral (JD) plus bar
SpeakingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingWriting

Paralegals & Legal Assistants

Median pay$63k
OutlookStable
AI exposureHigh 82%, modeled
EducationAssociate's
WritingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingCritical Thinking
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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2024-2034). Skills: O*NET 30.3. AI exposure is a modeled estimate. How these numbers are made.

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