Whether you are already a General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer, or you are aspiring to be one, you are likely on the lookout for general counsel compensation trends. Reviewing our In-House Counsel Salaries Guide is a place to start, and there are other resources available that specifically focus on general counsel compensation. BarkerGilmore and Equilar recently released their 2023 General Counsel Pay Trends Report and it is chock full of data that even a statistics nerd would admire.
“Given the expansion of the role and added responsibilities, it comes as no surprise that the General Counsel position is compensated well. Median total compensation for Equilar 500 General Counsel experienced a near 20% increase since 2018, up from $2.6 million to $3.1 million. Over the last year, base salary saw a significant rise, increasing from a median $575,000 to $601,300 in 2022, representing a notable 4.6% increase. Additionally, annual cash targets grew from $487,500 to $507,400, marking a 4.1% increase. While stock awards increased more modestly at 0.8%, moving up from $445,700 to $449,300, the largest increase in 2022 came from performance incentives. This component of pay surged from $771,800 in 2021 to $838,700 in 2022,reflecting a 8.7% increase. In 2022, significant changes in compensation were observed across various sectors, with notable increases in seven out of ten sectors….”