Money

The General Counsel Bringing Home The Big Bucks

The survey also revealed some trends for the industry overall.

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Listen, we know what Above the Law readers really care about — it’s that sweet spot when money and prestige converge that gets everyone excited. That’s why it’s great that our friends at Corporate Counsel have created a comprehensive ranking that pulls together all the money that general counsel make in total cash compensation, which is a combination of base salary, cash bonus, and nonequity incentives.

At the top of the list is Eric Grossman of Morgan Stanley, taking home nearly $7 million in 2017. All the GCs in the Top 10 made over $3 million:

Top Paid General Counsels
Rank Name Company Compensation
1 Eric Grossman Morgan Stanley $6,948,750
2 Laureen Seeger American Express Company $6,718,385
3 Gerson Zweifach Twenty-First Century Fox $5,500,000
4 Alex Braverman Walt Disney $5,165,000
5 Michael Sharp Leucadia $5,000,000
6 Lawrence Tu CBS $4,564,808
7 Robb Voyles Halliburton $4,473,780
8 Brad Smith Microsoft $4,027,376
9 Ehsan Zargar HRG Group $3,400,000
10 David Hyman Netflix $3,369,538

The survey also revealed some trends for the industry overall. The bad news is that average total cash compensation went down — though, that is largely because of the large payment former Altria Group Inc. GC Denise Keane earned:

Let’s start with the bad: average total cash compensation went down by 4.2 percent from last year’s survey. Average cash compensation in this year’s survey was $2,028,221, trailing behind last year’s $2,117,469.

Total cash was dragged down by a 7.4 percent decrease in average nonequity incentives, from $1,201,865 in 2016 to $1,113,017 last year.

But salaries themselves saw an increase overall:

The good news is that, despite the dip in overall cash compensation, average salaries saw a boost of 2.5 percent, up to $717,183, and average bonuses rose 31.1 percent, to $1,472,965. It’s worth noting that less than 20 percent of of the 341 legal leaders included in our survey reported a traditional bonus; the majority of GCs receiving extra cash got it in the form of nonequity incentives.

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

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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