In-House Counsel

General Counsel Comp: In-House Money Is 'Back With A Vengeance' (2021)

How much more money are GCs earning than Biglaw partners?

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2021 moneyDay in and day out, associates slavishly bill their hours at Biglaw firms across the country, wondering if perhaps someday they’ll be able to move in-house where the grass must surely be greener — even in our “post”-pandemic world. After all, a life without billable hours is, dare we say, actually a life.

As it turns out, the grass there is actually greener for many in-house attorneys as cash seems to grow on trees in this mythical, magical fairy-tale land where money and prestige converge.

While a great number of people believe that in-house lawyers earn less than their Biglaw counterparts, top in-house attorneys — the general counsel of America’s largest companies — often earn sums that exceed Biglaw partner pay.

How much more are general counsel earning than Biglaw partners? Let’s take a look at Corporate Counsel’s latest survey of the nation’s best-paid general counsel, a ranking that pulls together all the money that GCs make in total cash compensation, which is a combination of base salary, cash bonus, and nonequity incentives.

General counsel compensation has certainly changed since last year’s survey — and per Jason Winmill, managing partner of Boston-based legal department consulting firm Argopoint, it “came back with a vengeance”:

Pay for the nation’s most powerful legal chiefs has rocketed back into the stratosphere following a slump amid corporate austerity measures during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic….

…

In 2021, cash comp increased significantly year-over-year for the highest-earning GCs in the country. The top five legal chiefs collected $36.95 million in total cash comp, which averages to $7.39 million, an increase of more than 62% over 2020’s average of $4.6 million.

And what about the difference between men’s and women’s salaries on the GC front? Back in 2020, the in-house gender pay gap looked like it was finally beginning to close, but things seem to have taken a turn for the worse.

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[U]nfortunately, the number of women on this year’s top 20 list fell to five, [down from nine the prior year].

“I’m disappointed. We seemed to be improving last year, but now we’ve hit a huge drop-off,” said Katherine Loanzon, managing director at Kinney Recruiting in New York. “The pandemic may have been a factor as it caused a lot of female executives to have to come to terms with balancing the family versus their professional responsibilities.”

She added, “But a larger conversation should be, ‘How are these companies supporting women in these positions?’ It just shows that corporate America still has a long way to go.”

It’ll be interesting to see what next year’s GC compensation report looks like, but for now, let’s focus on the good news. Here are the top 10 highest-paid GCs in the country. All the GCs present here had total cash compensation of more than $4 million:

1. Alan N. Braverman / Walt Disney: $8,799,000
2. Kathryn Ruemmler / Goldman Sachs: $7,900,000
3. Viet D. Dinh / Fox Corporation: $7,500,000
4. Michael J. Sharp / Jefferies Financial: $7,000,000
5. David J. Sorkin / KKE & Co.: $5,750,000
6. L.E. Seeger / American Express: $5,700,000
7. Owen S. Littman / Cowen Group: $5,313,000
8. Kate Adams / Apple: $5,000,000
9. David Hyman / Netflix: $4,725,000
10. Lucy Fato / AIG: $4,300,000

Congratulations to those taking home these impressive salaries. It’s certainly encouraging for everyone looking to make the leap in-house.

The 2022 GC Compensation Survey: Legal Chief Pay Spikes After Pandemic Pause [Corporate Counsel]
GC Compensation Chart: Who Made the 2022 Top-Paid GC List? [Corporate Counsel]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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