How and why do GCs get raises? Two case studies

On January 31, 2026

How and why do GCs get raises? Two case studies: 1. Qualcomm GC Ann Chaplin’s comp has increased the last 3 years per Corporate Counsel. In 2025 she made $9M, up from $6.9M in 2024. Of her 2025 pay, the large majority was stock (78% of total pay at $7.1M), and her base rose from […]

Compensation, GC

GC Pay: A Case Study

On January 18, 2026

GC pay and raises are often a black box, so I thought it’d be helpful to look at a case study. Pay is usually a mix of base + bonus + equity (the largest component). This scenario was the case with Jennifer Salinas, GC of Cerence, a small public technology company that does AI-powered voice […]

GC, Market

GC musical chairs

On January 10, 2026

Big GC moves this winter: Apple CLO Kate Adams announced she was retiring in December. Apple is replacing its CLO with Jennifer Newstead from Meta. Meta is replacing its CLO with CJ Mahoney, a VP from Microsoft. Former Microsoft CLO Hossein Nowbar, who left the company in the fall, joined ServiceNow this past week. Current […]

Compensation, GC, Inhouse

Roku & Snap land new GCs with huge stock grants

On December 14, 2025

Roku and Snap gave substantial equity grants to land their new GCs, per Corporate Counsel/Recorder. In November, Roku hired Chris Handman, a veteran GC including at Snap, and gave him a $9.2M equity grant that vested quarterly over two years. Two weeks after Roku’s hire, Snap hired Zachary Briers from Munger Tolles and awarded him a […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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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