In-House Counsel, Money

In-House Attorneys See 4.3 Percent Pay Hike -- Still Pretty Sure They're Underpaid

Blowing the lid off in-house compensation.

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bonus money case 100 dollar bills benjamins.jpgBarkerGilmore just released its 2017 In-House Counsel Compensation Report and the good news is that attorneys working in-house are seeing a modest uptick in compensation, at least outpacing inflation — but what doesn’t outpace inflation? — but when it comes right down to it a massive number of respondents are just waiting to bolt.

The survey, which sampled nearly 1,600 in-house counsel across the country over the last few months, found that in-house lawyers received a 4.3 percent pay increase over the last year. That’s 0.1 percent more than they got last year, which is more of a rounding error than an encouraging sign about the industry. That sounds perfectly middling, until you realize every rung of the prevailing Biglaw associate scale bests that — some years by a lot. No wonder in-house counsel are so cranky with associates.

That 4.3 percent increase wasn’t uniform across sectors though. The tech industry received the biggest average bump, with salaries up 4.9 percent. Meanwhile the Financial and Manufacturing industries tied for the smallest increase, with just 3.7 percent. But whatever increase an in-house attorney saw last year, they’re pretty sure it wasn’t enough. More respondents felt they were “very” or “somewhat” undercompensated compared to their peers, dwarfing those who think they’re getting more, and in many industries outnumbering those who think they’re paid on par with the industry average.

That’s why 41 percent said “they would consider a new position within the next year due to compensation issues.” So much for the stable in-house market!

Well, let’s get to the dollars and cents, because that’s what we all want to know — just how much are these people making? The report breaks down compensation averages for general counsel, managing counsel, and senior counsel. As one might expect, general counsel have the largest variation — with total compensation ranging from $350K to around $900K based on company revenue. Managing counsel, those with at least one direct report who aren’t the GC, are much more consistent across companies, with comp averaging from just under $300K to around $350K. Senior counsel, the rank-and-file attorney in a legal department, have the most interesting breakdown by revenue, with attorneys at companies making less than $500M making more on average — at $250K — than attorneys at their level at bigger companies — ranging from just under $200K to just under $250K. Bigger legal departments at bigger companies mean a lot more minions relative to managing counsel, I suppose. Plus all those tech companies with negative revenue but so much “potential” might be playing mild havoc with the results.

The full report, available here, offers more insights to dig through, but the moral of the story for all the Biglaw attorneys reading in this and weighing a move in-house is go ahead and make the leap — but do it with your eyes open. You’re always going to be complaining about compensation wherever you go.

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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