Legal Researcher
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Legal Researcher undertakes in-depth research into any aspects of the law in support of a company or individual.
Job Outlook
There were 84 Legal Researcher job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3187 in the United States.
We do not have this data at this time.
Salary
Many new Legal Researcher jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $114,528.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $101,779.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Legal Researcher postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $81,266.
Education and Experience
Posted Legal Researcher jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 45.62% |
| Master's Degree | 29.02% |
| Doctoral Degree | 26.01% |
| Other | 7.75% |
Posted Legal Researcher jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 49.49% |
| 3 to 5 years | 38.65% |
| 6 to 8 years | 3.29% |
| 9+ years | 8.56% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Legal Researcher positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (36.43%)
- Research (32.38%)
- Detail Oriented (30.69%)
- Filing (27.99%)
- Writing (18.01%)
- Organizational Skills (17.29%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (17.16%)
- Management (16.44%)
- Time Management (13.81%)
- Microsoft Excel (13.27%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Freedom To Operate (Patent Law) (8.91%)
- Patent Drafting (9.93%)
- Prior Art (16.03%)
- Intellectual Property Docketing (18.14%)
- Trademarks (38.79%)
- Patents (92.15%)
- Patent Applications (38.73%)
- Patent Prosecution (48.91%)
- Intellectual Property (38.51%)
- Information Disclosure Statement (6.9%)
- Docketing (Court) (28.74%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Portfolio Management (7.38%)
- Physics (11.02%)
- Mechanical Engineering (11.21%)
- Project Management (3.13%)
- Legal Research (4.31%)
- Life Sciences (11.75%)
- Intellectual Property Laws (7.41%)
- Invoicing (3.61%)
- Marketing (2.62%)
- Due Diligence (12.36%)
- Document Management Systems (5.17%)
- Computer Science (15.45%)
- Chemical Engineering (7.69%)
- Lawsuits (12.55%)
- Biochemistry (11.11%)
- Biotechnology (9.36%)
- Molecular Biology (10.34%)
- Biology (8.62%)
- Chemistry (12.68%)
- Electrical Engineering (19.16%)
- Artificial Intelligence (5.97%)
- Workflow Management (6.42%)
- Administrative Support (4.28%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Trademark Prosecution (4.98%)
- Patent Infringement (4.66%)
- Google Scholar (4.6%)
- Patent Claims (1.47%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Prior Art (30.7%)
- Patent Drafting (19.02%)
- Intellectual Property (73.76%)
- Patent Infringement (8.93%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Legal Researcher skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Patent Agent
- Patent Prosecution Specialist
- Intellectual Property Specialist
- Docket Specialist
- Patent Prosecution Associate
- Docketing Specialist
- Life Science Specialist
- Patent Specialist
- Molecular Biologist
- Classification Specialist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Legal Researcher jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (210)
- Clarivate (189)
- Clarivate Analytics (118)
- Womble Bond Dickinson (Us) Llp (113)
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Llp (89)
- Binding Minds (74)
- Bridgeline Solutions (46)
- Duane Morris Llp (45)
- Marina Sirras (42)
- Foley & Lardner Llp (38)
North Carolina
- Womble Bond Dickinson (Us) Llp (24)
- Alston & Bird Llp (5)
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Llp (5)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (4)
- Marina Sirras (3)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (3)
- Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Llp (3)
- Moore & Van Allen, Pllc (3)
- Above The Bar (2)
- Forrest Solutions (2)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.