What does an assistant general counsel do?
An assistant general counsel helps the general counsel in giving professional legal services to an entity, such as protecting its legal affairs. He/She or she also helps stakeholders such as legal and executive managers and board of directors for the efficient execution of their roles. The position requires essential skills such as good research, analytical, interpersonal skills, and a keen eye for details. The education requirements for the job include obtaining a bachelor's or master's degree in law, business, political science, and a related field.
Assistant general counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant general counsel resumes:
- Manage debt and equity offerings and relate disclosure under applicable state and federal securities laws.
- Manage the litigation referral process; work with examiners and investigators preparing subpoenas, taking witness testimony and reviewing documentary evidence.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Draft and assist in the implementation of data use authorizations with all clinical trial sites to ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations.
- Advise clients on many legal matters in pharmacy services administration, audits, HIPAA, and health care issues in general.
- Coordinate defective pricing reviews, post award audits and conduct internal ethics investigations.
- Investigate and respond to criminal and regulatory subpoenas in conjunction with both external and internal investigations.
- Represent corporation, senior management and broker employees of retail broker- dealer in litigation and arbitration proceedings.
- Provide counsel regarding corporate compliance and ethics; handle investigations; provide recommendations to management; and recommend remedial/disciplinary actions.
- File administrative complaints against regulate entities to enforce state financial regulations governing mortgage brokers/lenders, securities transactions and money transmitters.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Create custom contracts for innovative developments (cloud hosting, SaaS, click-through licenses, electronic signature, mobile devices).
- impact of recent FCC and FTC decisions regarding do not call registry, anti-spam acts and unsolicite fax legislation).
- Draft and respond to written interrogatories and document demands.
- Assist medical device manufacturer with FDA labeling compliance.
Assistant general counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Assistants General Counsel are proficient in Legal Advice, Litigation, and Legal Issues. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Assistants General Counsel that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Advice, 10%
Provide legal advice and counsel to senior executives and physicians relative to physician provider groups in Southern California.
- Litigation, 10%
Managed the litigation referral process; worked with examiners and investigators preparing subpoenas, taking witness testimony and reviewing documentary evidence.
- Legal Issues, 7%
Position required the ability to be successful at communicating complex business and legal issues to senior corporate management and personnel.
- Legal Support, 5%
Provide legal support for international trade compliance and logistics, including the management of relationships with regulatory and law enforcement agencies.
- Legal Research, 5%
Coordinated and provided legal research for new marketing products, including final product review and legal verification.
- Legal Services, 4%
Managed staff of seven lawyers providing legal services primarily to global procurement, commercial sales, risk management and research departments.
Most assistants general counsel use their skills in "legal advice," "litigation," and "legal issues" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential assistant general counsel responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an assistant general counsel to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Assistants general counsel often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided risk analysis and developed strategies as a result of past litigation experiences for owned and managed operations. "
Interpersonal skills. Many assistant general counsel duties rely on interpersonal skills. "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community.," so an assistant general counsel will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways assistant general counsel responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
Problem-solving skills. assistants general counsel are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to assistant general counsel responsibilities, because "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." An assistant general counsel resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "avoided further litigation by negotiating resolutions that minimized penalties and compliance plan costs. "
Research skills. A big part of what assistants general counsel do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to assistant general counsel responsibilities because "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical assistant general counsel tasks: "researched, created, and implemented corporate document retention protocol and litigation hold procedure. "
The three companies that hire the most assistant general counsels are:
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.59 assistants general counsel jobs
- Regions Bank57 assistants general counsel jobs
- Verint48 assistants general counsel jobs
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Compare different assistants general counsel
Assistant general counsel vs. Bankruptcy specialist
The bankruptcy specialist is responsible for filing and documentation loan bankruptcy materials with the appropriate attorneys. They ensure full compliance with loan bankruptcy regulations and monitor accounts throughout the loan bankruptcy process to contact the appropriate party when necessary. A bankruptcy specialist might be an administrator or lawyer in a bankruptcy office and supports bankruptcy law. They are likely to evaluate state declaration and affidavits for legal progression, interact with customers and outside counsel about bankruptcy proceedings through written and verbal communication, and work with local counsel and upper management in effectively reviewing client's files.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an assistant general counsel are more likely to require skills like "legal advice," "legal issues," "juris," and "legal support." On the other hand, a job as a bankruptcy specialist requires skills like "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Bankruptcy specialists really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $47,222. Comparatively, assistants general counsel tend to make the most money in the utilities industry with an average salary of $154,436.bankruptcy specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than assistants general counsel. In fact, bankruptcy specialists are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 49.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Assistant general counsel vs. Senior attorney
A Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, assistant general counsel responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "real estate," "ethics," "in-house counsel," and "nyse." Meanwhile, a senior attorney has duties that require skills in areas such as "law firm," "eeo," "excellent interpersonal," and "renewable energy." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Senior attorneys earn a lower average salary than assistants general counsel. But senior attorneys earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $135,158. Additionally, assistants general counsel earn the highest salaries in the utilities with average pay of $154,436 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Senior attorneys tend to reach similar levels of education than assistants general counsel. In fact, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 49.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant general counsel vs. Lawyer
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an assistant general counsel is likely to be skilled in "human resources," "ethics," "risk management," and "in-house counsel," while a typical lawyer is skilled in "law firm," "civil law," "trial preparation," and "financial institutions."
Most lawyers achieve a higher degree level compared to assistants general counsel. For example, they're 7.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 24.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant general counsel vs. Contract attorney
A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency. Contract attorneys represent clients at court, assist with law proceedings, and advise clients for the necessary legal procedures. A contract attorney must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to manage client legal matters and expertise in traditional disciplines and processes.
Types of assistant general counsel
Updated January 8, 2025
