The 2024 Compensation Report: General Counsel

(October 2, 2024, 2:12 PM EDT) --
Middle-aged Latino man with gray hair, beard and glasses wearing a button-down shirt and gray jacket works at a laptop in an office

(iStock.com/Yaroslav Olieinikov)


Pay packages for top corporate general counsel have continued to stay strong, with stock awards and other benefits boosting compensation to well over $12 million for all the S&P 500 legal chiefs in the top 10.

Our coverage looks at dollar amounts in both total cash and total compensation for more than 250 of the highest-paid legal chiefs, with visualizations that break out that information by business sector, top 10 and more.

Check out the stories below to see who's making the most, which industries are the most profitable, and which law firms and law schools have the most alumni in these high-profile posts.

Everything You Need To Know About GC Pay

Want to know which legal chief is earning the most at an S&P 500 company? How compensation compares across business sectors? Explore the ins and outs of GC compensation with our interactive graphic.

These Are The Legal Chiefs Who Command Top Dollar

With the increasingly dynamic role of the top corporate lawyer playing out across sectors — as well as stock awards that far outpace the amounts those advocates see in their salaries and bonuses — the pay packages for most general counsel and chief legal officers continue to stay strong.

A Deep Dive Into GC Pay

Law360 Pulse looked beyond bare financials to see how business sectors, law firms and schools could influence the pay of top-earning GCs in S&P 500 companies. Here's what we found.

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