A general counsel (GC) is the most senior lawyer inside a company. They run the legal department, advise the CEO and board, and manage outside law firms. Pay depends heavily on company size: the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2025 survey put the median US GC base salary at $330,000, while Equilar found the median GC at the 500 largest US companies earned $3.4 million in total pay in 2024.
That spread, from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million, is the first thing to understand about the job. The title means the same thing at a 200-person software firm and at a Fortune 100 bank. The scope, risk and pay do not. This guide covers what a general counsel does, who they report to, what the latest surveys say about pay, and the usual path to the role in the US and the UK.
What does a general counsel do?
The GC is responsible for all legal risk in the business. In a small company that may mean drafting contracts personally. In a large group it means leading a department of hundreds of lawyers, compliance staff and legal operations professionals. Typical responsibilities include:
- Advising leadership. Giving legal and strategic advice to the CEO, the executive team and the board of directors.
- Corporate governance. Board processes, minutes, director duties and, at listed companies, securities disclosure. Many GCs also hold the corporate secretary title.
- Deals and contracts. Overseeing M&A, financings, commercial contracts and major partnerships.
- Disputes and investigations. Managing litigation, regulatory inquiries and internal investigations.
- Compliance and ethics. Often owning or supervising the compliance programme, privacy and data protection.
- Running the department. Hiring, budgets, technology and choosing and managing outside counsel.
The role has drifted further into the business. In the 2026 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey (released 29 January 2026, 1,049 respondents in 43 countries), 47% said their CEO now expects them to build technology and AI proficiency. Trade and tariffs were the top concern, cited by 30%.
Who does a general counsel report to?
Most top lawyers now report straight to the chief executive. The 2026 ACC survey found a record 84% of chief legal officers report directly to the CEO, up from 79% the year before. According to a review of the survey by Michael W. Peregrine (27 February 2026), 42% of those who do not report to the CEO report to the CFO instead.
The board link matters too. Only 1% of CLOs said they report directly to the board in 2026, down from 7% in 2024. But 52% keep a direct line of communication with their boards. That dual access is what lets a GC raise a problem even when the CEO would prefer they did not.
General counsel vs chief legal officer: is there a difference?
Often there is none in practice. Both titles usually mean the top lawyer. “Chief legal officer” signals a seat on the executive team, and the 2026 ACC survey found 34% of respondents now use it. Some large groups have both, with a CLO above a GC who runs day-to-day legal work. We break this down in chief legal officer vs general counsel.
How much does a general counsel make?
Every pay survey measures a different group of companies, so read the figures side by side rather than as one number.
| Source (date) | Who is measured | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| ACC 2025 Law Department Compensation Survey (US, 1,632 respondents) | GCs and CLOs across US organisations | Median base $330,000; median total cash $410,000 |
| Major, Lindsey & Africa 2024 In-House Counsel Compensation Survey (2,100+ lawyers, 46 countries) | GCs, global | Average target total cash $527,080 |
| BarkerGilmore 2026 In-House Counsel Compensation Report (21 April 2026) | GCs at large public companies | Median total compensation $2.5 million; top quartile above $5 million |
| Equilar General Counsel Pay Trends (25 September 2025) | GCs at the Equilar 500, the largest US public companies, fiscal 2024 | Median total compensation $3.4 million, up 20.5% from $2.8 million in 2020 |
Size is the biggest driver. The ACC 2025 survey found CLOs at companies with revenue above $5 billion earn 44% more in base salary and 173% more in total target compensation than CLOs at companies under $1 billion.
At the top end, most pay is not salary. According to Equilar, median performance incentives for Equilar 500 GCs reached $1,003,800 in 2024. A BarkerGilmore analysis of the same data put base salary at about 18% of the package, with performance incentives at 35% and stock awards at 27%.
For context, the BLS median for all US lawyers was $159,670 in May 2025. Our lawyer salary guide and corporate lawyer salary breakdown show how GC pay compares with law firm careers.
How do you find a specific GC’s pay?
For US public companies, check the annual proxy statement. SEC rules (Regulation S-K Item 402) require pay disclosure for the CEO, the CFO and the three other most highly compensated executive officers. A GC who ranks in that group appears in the summary compensation table, with salary, bonus, stock and option awards listed separately.
What is the typical path to general counsel?
There is no single route, but a common pattern looks like this:
- Law school and bar admission. A JD and bar licence in the US; qualification as a solicitor or barrister in the UK.
- Several years of law firm training. Corporate, securities, litigation and regulatory practices are common starting points. The ACC 2025 survey found in-house attorneys with prior law firm experience earn a 16% higher median base salary than peers without it.
- Move in-house. Join as counsel or senior counsel, usually in the area you practised. See our guide to in-house counsel jobs and how to move in-house.
- Broaden. Take on areas outside your specialism, manage people and outside counsel, and work closely with business leaders.
- Deputy or associate GC, then GC. Many first-time GCs step up at a smaller company, then move to larger ones.
Pay rises at each step. In the ACC 2025 survey, median base salary went from $148,000 for an attorney to $201,000 for a senior attorney, $245,000 for an associate GC and $280,000 for a deputy GC, before the $330,000 GC median.
What skills set a future GC apart?
- Business judgment: giving a clear answer and a risk level, not just a list of issues.
- Breadth across corporate, employment, regulatory and disputes work.
- Board and executive communication.
- Budget and team management, including legal technology and AI tools.
- Judgment under pressure during crises and investigations.
What is the UK equivalent of a general counsel?
The UK uses “general counsel” widely, especially at listed companies and international groups. Other common titles are head of legal, legal director and, at larger groups, “general counsel and company secretary”.
The company secretary link is a UK feature. Under the Companies Act 2006, a public company must have a secretary, while a private company is not required to have one. GCs at listed companies often hold both roles or oversee the company secretariat.
In-house work is a large share of the UK profession. According to TheCityUK’s UK legal services 2025 report, 43,811 of 176,360 practising solicitors in England and Wales worked in-house in 2025, about 25%.
In the EU, titles vary by country. Germany recognises in-house lawyers as a distinct category, the Syndikusrechtsanwalt, under section 46 of the Federal Lawyers’ Act. One difference catches out US-trained GCs: in EU competition investigations, communications with in-house lawyers are not covered by legal professional privilege, following the Court of Justice’s 2010 Akzo Nobel judgment.
Frequently asked questions
Is a general counsel a lawyer?
Yes. A general counsel is a qualified lawyer, usually admitted to the bar in the US or qualified as a solicitor or barrister in the UK. They act as the company’s chief legal adviser. Their client is the company itself, not individual executives.
How much does a general counsel make?
It depends on company size. The ACC’s 2025 US survey put median GC base salary at $330,000 and median total cash at $410,000. At the largest US public companies, Equilar found median total compensation of $3.4 million in 2024, most of it in incentives and stock.
How many years does it take to become a general counsel?
There is no fixed timeline. A common path is several years at a law firm, a move in-house, then promotion through senior counsel and deputy GC roles. First-time GC roles at smaller companies come earlier than GC roles at large public companies.
Who does the general counsel report to?
Usually the CEO. The 2026 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey found 84% of chief legal officers report directly to the CEO. Many also keep a direct line to the board, which 52% reported in the same survey.
What is the difference between general counsel and corporate counsel?
Corporate counsel is a broad term for any lawyer working in-house. The general counsel is the most senior of them and leads the legal function. A large company may employ dozens of corporate counsel but has one GC.
Bottom line
The general counsel is the company’s top lawyer and, more and more, a business executive. Pay starts in the low hundreds of thousands at smaller organisations and reaches several million at the largest public companies. The usual route runs through law firm training, an in-house move and steady broadening. Browse in-house openings on the Legal Desire jobs board.
This article is general information, not legal or career advice. Pay figures are drawn from the sources listed and vary by employer, location and experience.
Sources
- Association of Corporate Counsel, The Changing C-Suite: 2026 Chief Legal Officers Survey release (29 January 2026): acc.com
- Michael W. Peregrine, New Survey Informs Board Oversight of Chief Legal Officers, CLS Blue Sky Blog (27 February 2026): clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu
- Association of Corporate Counsel, 2025 Law Department Compensation Survey Executive Summary (2025): acc.com
- Major, Lindsey & Africa, 2024 In-House Counsel Compensation Survey (2024, published via ACC June 2025): acc.com
- BarkerGilmore, 2026 In-House Counsel Compensation Report announcement (21 April 2026): barkergilmore.com
- BarkerGilmore, What Is the Average Salary of a GC in Large Corporations? (March 2025, updated September 2026): barkergilmore.com
- Equilar, General Counsel Pay Trends press release (25 September 2025): equilar.com
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 17 CFR 229.402 (Regulation S-K Item 402): ecfr.gov
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Lawyers (May 2025 wage data): bls.gov
- Companies Act 2006, sections 270 and 271: legislation.gov.uk
- TheCityUK, UK legal services 2025 (2025): thecityuk.com
- Federal Lawyers’ Act (BRAO), section 46, English translation: gesetze-im-internet.de
- Court of Justice of the European Union, press release on Case C-550/07 P Akzo Nobel (14 September 2010): curia.europa.eu
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