GC

Who Gets the GC Job at Fortune 500 Companies?

  • On February 7, 2025
Law.com reports insiders get the job 49% of the time and outside candidates 51%. Let’s look at the stats: 13.6% (68 out of 500) of the Fortune companies changed GCs in 2024. 33 were filled with internal candidates, 35 with outside candidates. Apparently it’s “harder for internal candidates to land legal chief roles” now because […]
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Compensation, GC

Top Paid GCs? Yes, They’re in California

  • On February 5, 2025
Law.com reported the top paid GC as of 2024 is Alphabet’s top lawyer Kent Walker, who made $27.3M. A close second is Apple’s Kate Adams at $27.18M. Her base was $1M (where it’s been the last 6 years), stock valued at $22.16M, and cash incentive compensation at $4M. Her total comp has been “virtually unchanged […]
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Compensation, GC

Best Bay Area In-House Comp Numbers

  • On September 29, 2024
I’ve posted a couple compensation rules of thumb for in-house lawyers: the GC generally makes 24.3% of the CEO and won’t make more than the CFO. But how to get more granularity than that? For the best Bay Area in-house comp numbers, fill out this survey https://forms.gle/ogDnyb9d3RNUHHGQ8 anonymously, and you will get the complete report after numbers are […]
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Compensation, GC

GC Comp Trends from Law.com Report

  • On August 18, 2024
Law.com analyzed the top 526 GC pay from Fortune 1000 companies’ proxy statements covering fiscal year ending after June 30, 2023. (Note: this is “an imperfect snapshot of the pay landscape” because companies disclose pay for only their top 5 most highly paid execs, so GC/CLO data is missing from Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla.) The […]
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GC, Inhouse, Women & Minorities

Alternate Paths to GC: A Case Study

  • On September 27, 2020
The classic path to GC is to start at an Am Law firm in corporate securities, then go in-house to a capital markets team (being sure to pick up SEC, M&A, employee benefits, IR support, and other adjacent practice groups). The person would climb the corporate ladder internally or join a smaller company as the […]
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Career Management, Career Tips, GC

Classic Path to GC (& What to Do if You Are Not On it!)

  • On February 9, 2020
The classic path to getting the general counsel spot is to attend a top 20 school, train 5+ years in corporate securities at a leading law firm, and then go in-house. Early responsibilities should include SEC, M&A, and equity plans. Responsibilities should broaden over time to include commercial, compliance, and HR. Additionally, candidates should have […]
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Career Management, Career Tips, GC, Inhouse

5 Ways to Get that Top GC Job!

  • On April 21, 2019
The Recorder sat down with top Bay Area GCs to find out how they landed that #1 job. A distillation below: Impress your clients. Airbus Silicon Valley Robert Keele got the job after serving as outside counsel. (In my opinion, joining a client is the easiest way to go in-house. You know the company, and […]
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Career Management, GC, Job Search

5 Ways to Learn of a Job before it Goes Public

  • On April 17, 2016
Employers often have a candidate in mind before they even post their opening. Who gets to be that lucky person? Prospective employers often consult their own connections (the whisper network) first. To be an in-demand candidate, get to know these 5 sources: Senior management of companies. Executives and board members often ask their peers whom […]
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Career Management, GC, Inhouse

Path to GC

  • On February 28, 2016
If your goal is to be a general counsel, make sure you:  Get experience with SEC and M&A work. Not all but most GCs come from a corporate/securities background. If you don’t have one, make sure you get relevant corporate work. Public companies contend with filings, and private ones need to think about exit strategies. Get […]
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Career Management, GC, Inhouse

How Do You Get the Top Legal Job?

  • On July 26, 2015
I listened to four GCs recently share their best tips on how they got to the top:  Evaluate where you want to go, and work backwards. Brian Cabrera of NVIDIA says to ask yourself what skills are you missing for that top job, and then go get them. Always take on new opportunities, even if […]
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