Market research firm Equilar has released findings that show total direct compensation for in-house leaders growing at companies of all sizes during 2015. Over the course of the year, the median total direct compensation for GCs at all companies lifted 6.9 per cent, with legal leaders at healthcare industry companies enjoying the juiciest increases. The median total direct compensation for a healthcare industry GC lifted an impressive 32.4 per cent last year, from $2.24m in 2014 to $2.96m in 2015. On the other hand, median total direct compensation for GCs at technology companies declined last year, down from $2.49m in 2014 to $2.17m in 2015.

Large and small alike

For larger companies, salary generally represented a slimmer proportion of total direct compensation than at smaller companies. However, median total direct compensation was up for companies in all size brackets. For surveyed companies with less than $1 billion in annual turnover, the median total direct compensation for GCs was $725,021, climbing to $1.2 million for GCs at companies with between $1 billion and $5 billion in revenue, $1.7 million for those at companies with between $5 billion and $15 billion in revenue, and $2.5 million for those at companies with turnover in excess of $15 billion. Overall, the median total direct compensation for GCs across the board was greater than $1 million in 2015.

In-house vs. private practice

BarkerGilmore managing partner Bob Barker said that the strong compensation figures reflect the growing value of general counsel within the upper echelons of corporate management. ‘They keep getting things put on their plate,’ he told Bloomberg BigLaw Business. ‘Now, the big trend is we’re projecting is that about 30 per cent of general counsels are going to be chief risk officers’ by 2020, he added, noting that many GCs already hold multiple titles within their company. It is also noteworthy that GC compensation is beginning to rival that of private practice partners for higher-end companies – according to the AMLaw league table, an in-house lawyer with total direct compensation of $2.5 million per year would rank 22^nd by profits-per-partner behind 21^st place holder Paul Hastings.

The full report from Equilar and BarkerGilmore can be viewed here.