Where Can I Find the Latest Salary Trends for General Counsel Positions?

Where Can I Find the Latest Salary Trends for General Counsel Positions

Understanding salary trends for General Counsel positions is crucial for legal professionals — and for the organizations that rely on them. These roles remain among the highest paid and most strategically influential in the legal field.

According to BarkerGilmore’s 2025 In-House Counsel Compensation Report, General Counsel salaries increased by 2.5% in 2025, following a 4.4% increase the prior year. Compensation growth has moderated, but total pay levels remain exceptionally strong across all organization types.

Why General Counsel Salaries Matter

General Counsel compensation offers a window into broader legal market dynamics. These leaders guide corporate strategy, manage regulatory risk, and increasingly serve as trusted advisors to CEOs and boards. In fact, BarkerGilmore reports that 64% of General Counsel say their opinions on business issues are “always sought and respected,” compared to 49% of Managing Counsel.

High salaries reflect not only legal expertise but also the strategic influence, judgment, and executive presence — or gravitas — required to operate at this level. As John Gilmore, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at BarkerGilmore, explains in the Equilar General Counsel Pay Trends 2025 report, the most effective GCs demonstrate “strategic business acumen, communication and influence, and the resilience to lead through uncertainty.”

How Much Does a General Counsel Make?

The answer depends on company size, industry, and ownership structure — but compensation for top in-house legal leaders remains robust.

Public Companies

General Counsel at public companies reported a median total compensation of approximately $1.94 million, with 75th-percentile packages surpassing $2.85 million and top quartile pay reaching over $4.5 million.

Private and Portfolio Companies

Private-company GCs earned a median of about $1.31 million, while those at private equity–backed portfolio companies reported a median of $1.25 million, with the top 10% exceeding $2.8 million.

Nonprofit Organizations

Even in the nonprofit sector, GCs at the largest organizations ($5B+ revenue) reached median total compensation of $1.74 million, a figure that underscores how critical legal leadership has become across industries.

From the public-company perspective, Equilar’s 2025 analysis of the 500 largest U.S. corporations shows a median GC compensation of $3.4 million — a 20.5% increase since 2020.

Bonuses remain a significant component: GCs were paid 88% of their target bonuses in 2025, consistent with prior years.

What Is the Average Salary of a General Counsel in Large Corporations?

For large public corporations with revenues exceeding $5 billion, median total compensation exceeds $1.9 million, while the 90th percentile reaches more than $4.5 million.

Equilar’s data similarly shows median compensation of $3.4 million among the largest 500 U.S. companies, with performance incentives making up 35% of the typical pay mix and base salary averaging around 18%.

These figures confirm that General Counsel ranks among the top five highest-paid executive roles, often close behind CFOs. In fact, CFOs earned roughly 1.7 times GC pay in 2024, up from 1.3 times in 2020 — reflecting continued competitiveness for legal talent.

Key Factors Influencing General Counsel Salary

Several variables drive General Counsel compensation:

• Company Size: Larger organizations pay significantly more, especially those with $5B+ in revenue.
• Industry: The Life Sciences industry led all sectors in 2025, with total median in-house compensation of $474,000, followed by Energy ($442,000) and Consumer ($424,000) across roles.
• Experience and Tenure: GCs with 11–15 years in role earned the highest median pay at $3.6 million, while those with more than 20 years earned less at $2.6 million, suggesting compensation peaks mid-career.
• Gender: While women now comprise roughly one-third of Equilar 500 GCs (33.5%), they out-earned men for the third consecutive year — $3.6M median versus $3.4M.
• Bonus Performance: Across all roles, bonuses were paid at or near target, averaging 93% of goal for in-house counsel overall.

Where to Find Reliable General Counsel Salary Data

Reliable benchmarking is essential for both hiring organizations and in-house professionals evaluating market competitiveness.

• BarkerGilmore’s In-House Counsel Compensation Report (2025) – A comprehensive study of more than 2,700 in-house legal professionals, segmented by company type, industry, and revenue quartiles.
• Equilar’s General Counsel Pay Trends (2025) – Based on SEC-reported data from the Equilar 500, detailing total pay, gender trends, and performance incentive structures.
• Legal Recruitment Firms and Peer Networks – Engaging with specialized recruiters or attending industry conferences often provides nuanced, real-time insights that complement survey data.

Trends Shaping General Counsel Compensation in 2025

The General Counsel role continues to evolve beyond legal oversight toward strategic business leadership.

Key trends shaping compensation this year include:

• Increased Strategic Influence: The role’s expanding impact on corporate strategy has elevated total pay.
• Focus on ESG, AI, and Cybersecurity Expertise: GCs with digital fluency and governance acumen are commanding premium compensation.
• Performance-Based Pay Emphasis: Long-term incentives and performance bonuses now comprise more than one-third of total compensation.
• Retention Strategies Beyond Pay: Leading companies are retaining GCs by offering broader influence, leadership visibility, and professional development, not just higher salaries.

Tips for Evaluating and Negotiating General Counsel Compensation

When evaluating or negotiating a General Counsel offer:

• Reference quartile-based market data from BarkerGilmore or Equilar.
• Assess total compensation, including equity, long-term incentives, and performance components.
• Highlight business acumen, governance influence, and leadership credibility — qualities now weighted as heavily as legal expertise.
• Consider non-financial factors such as board access, scope of influence, and organizational alignment.

Conclusion

In 2025, General Counsel compensation continues to mirror the expanding strategic importance of the role.

With median total pay surpassing $1.9 million at large companies and top packages exceeding $4.5 million, today’s GCs are valued not only for their legal judgment but for their leadership, business acumen, and ability to navigate complex global environments.

For those benchmarking or negotiating, authoritative data from BarkerGilmore and Equilar remain the most trusted sources for accurate, executive-level compensation insight.