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 70 Legal Researcher job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2378 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 $117,820.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $148,830.
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 $84,375.
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 | 45.75% |
| Master's Degree | 35.79% |
| Doctoral Degree | 29.9% |
| Other | 5.55% |
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 | 56.77% |
| 3 to 5 years | 34.18% |
| 6 to 8 years | 2.25% |
| 9+ years | 6.8% |
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.
- Research (39.28%)
- Communication (34.48%)
- Detail Oriented (30.87%)
- Filing (21.7%)
- Time Management (17.58%)
- Writing (17.49%)
- Organizational Skills (16.27%)
- Management (16.06%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (15.48%)
- Analytical Skills (10.43%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Patents (85.3%)
- Patent Applications (39.43%)
- Patent Prosecution (43.93%)
- Intellectual Property (33.72%)
- Intellectual Property Docketing (10.57%)
- Patent Drafting (9.35%)
- Prior Art (21.04%)
- Freedom To Operate (Patent Law) (9.89%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Biotechnology (12.19%)
- Computer Science (17.45%)
- Molecular Biology (9.8%)
- Biology (8.05%)
- Chemistry (14.07%)
- Biochemistry (10.97%)
- Business Communication (7.73%)
- Business Development (1.66%)
- Electrical Engineering (20.23%)
- Docketing (Court) (19.42%)
- Due Diligence (15.24%)
- Chemical Engineering (9.13%)
- Lawsuits (14.66%)
- Mechanical Engineering (14.48%)
- Legal Research (10.48%)
- Life Sciences (12.23%)
- Physics (10.61%)
- Trademarks (33.9%)
- Intellectual Property Strategy (3.87%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Google Scholar (6.43%)
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.
- Intellectual Property Docketing (18.91%)
- Freedom To Operate (Patent Law) (17.7%)
- Patent Drafting (16.73%)
- Patent Prosecution (78.6%)
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
- Patent Prosecution Associate
- Classification Specialist
- Life Science Specialist
- Docket Specialist
- Court Researcher
- Patent Specialist
- Intellectual Property Docketing 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
- Clarivate (186)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (155)
- Clarivate Analytics (98)
- Womble Bond Dickinson (Us) Llp (98)
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Llp (55)
- Duane Morris Llp (34)
- Binding Minds (30)
- DLA Piper (28)
- Broadcast Music, Inc. (Bmi) (28)
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Llp (23)
North Carolina
- Womble Bond Dickinson (Us) Llp (18)
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Llp (7)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (3)
- Relx (3)
- Marina Sirras (2)
- Us Probate Leads (2)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (2)
- Blue Signal Search (2)
- K&L Gates (1)
- King & Spalding (1)
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.