What does a Senior Attorney do?
A Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.
Senior attorney responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior attorney resumes:
- Manage and respond to corporate subpoenas including drafting appropriate objections and preparing witnesses for deposition.
- Manage the death administration department with approximately thirty-five plus estates through trust administration, Medicaid estate recovery or probate.
- Draft charging instruments, pleadings, subpoenas, consent agreements, orders and other documents pertaining to administrative enforcement litigation proceedings.
- Experience litigation attorney, with emphasis on management of civil and matrimonial litigation, from initial interview through trial or settlement.
- Communicate with client and insurance carriers concerning the progress of the litigation and provide recommendations regarding settlement or other claim resolution.
- Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.
- Handle all aspects of discovery including preparing interrogatories, document requests, taking and defending depositions and responding to discovery requests.
Senior attorney skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Senior Attorneys are proficient in Litigation, Law Firm, and Legal Advice. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Attorneys that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 14%
Experienced litigation attorney, with emphasis on management of civil and matrimonial litigation, from initial interview through trial or settlement.
- Law Firm, 8%
Administrated the trust for the founder of the law firm, upon his death, and dissolution of the law practice.
- Legal Advice, 8%
Provided specific legal advice, and assisted in integrating e-commerce with complementary services existing in this Fortune 500 Company.
- Juris, 7%
Work with Word, Microsoft Outlook and JURIS computer programs
- Legal Research, 7%
Drafted and issued decisions after obtaining/ reviewing relevant medical, education and other evidence and conducting legal research.
- Legal Support, 4%
Provided tactical legal support to Global Information Security teams in security breach reporting, investigation and management and client response.
Common skills that a senior attorney uses to do their job include "litigation," "law firm," and "legal advice." You can find details on the most important senior attorney responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior attorney to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Senior attorneys often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepare oral and written legal analysis and document litigation recommendations. "
Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior attorney duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community." According to a senior attorney resume, here's how senior attorneys can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for senior attorneys to perform their duties. For an example of how senior attorney responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior attorney: "communicated with client and insurance carriers concerning the progress of the litigation and provided recommendations regarding settlement or other claim resolution. ".
Research skills. senior attorney responsibilities often require "research skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." This resume example shows what senior attorneys do with research skills on a typical day: "research and prepare the necessary documentation for litigation. "
The three companies that hire the most senior attorneys are:
- MMy Florida Regional Mls41 senior attorneys jobs
- FFlorida Department of Transportation31 senior attorneys jobs
- SSouthern Poverty Law Center15 senior attorneys jobs
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Compare different senior attorneys
Senior attorney vs. Associate counsel
An Associate Counsel assists in protecting an organization's legal interests and maintaining its operations within the scope established by law. They are focused on the negotiation of complex acquisitions, sales, and funding.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior attorneys and associate counsel. For instance, senior attorney responsibilities require skills such as "law firm," "juris," "internal clients," and "excellent interpersonal." Whereas a associate counsel is skilled in "substance abuse," "veterans," "in-house counsel," and "mental health." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Associate counsels earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $152,601. On the other hand, senior attorneys are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $135,158.On average, associate counsels reach higher levels of education than senior attorneys. Associate counsels are 5.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 19.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior attorney vs. Lawyer
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior attorney resumes. While senior attorney responsibilities can utilize skills like "eeo," "internal clients," "excellent interpersonal," and "risk management," lawyers use skills like "real estate," "civil law," "corporate law," and "contract law."
Lawyers earn higher levels of education than senior attorneys in general. They're 7.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 19.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior attorney vs. Legal counsel
A Legal Counsel supervises the legal aspects of a business. They give accurate and timely counsel to executives on a variety of legal topics, such as labor law, partnerships, or international ventures.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior attorney is likely to be skilled in "law firm," "juris," "eeo," and "appeals," while a typical legal counsel is skilled in "legal risks," "in-house counsel," "ethics," and "gdpr."
Legal counsels earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $159,575. Senior attorneys earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $135,158.legal counsels typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior attorneys. Specifically, they're 4.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 11.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior attorney vs. Assistant general counsel
An assistant general counsel helps the general counsel in giving professional legal services to an entity, such as protecting its legal affairs. He/She or she also helps stakeholders such as legal and executive managers and board of directors for the efficient execution of their roles. The position requires essential skills such as good research, analytical, interpersonal skills, and a keen eye for details. The education requirements for the job include obtaining a bachelor's or master's degree in law, business, political science, and a related field.
Types of senior attorney
Updated January 8, 2025
