General Counsel Pay Trends

General Counsel Pay Trends, an Equilar publication, analyzes the compensation of General Counsel (GC) disclosed in the SEC filings by Equilar 500 companies for the last five fiscal years. The data points and figures in the report highlight trends in the compensation of General Counsel and how companies decide to compensate the position. BarkerGilmore has provided an independent analysis to discuss the nature of recruiting top General Counsel talent and the role compensation plays.

About the Report

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Key Findings 

• Median total compensation for Equilar 500 General Counsel increased by 8.1% to $3.1 million in 2021 
• The value of General Counsel stock awards grew by 27.9% in 2021 
• Among all Equilar 500 companies, 175 disclosed a General Counsel among their top five highest paid executives 
• In 2021, 35.4% of disclosed General Counsel were women, steady from 2020 
• Women saw a 30.2% increase in General Counsel pay compared to 22.6% for men