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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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 list "legal advice," "litigation," and "legal issues" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important assistant general counsel responsibilities here:

  • Analytical skills can be considered to be the most important personality trait for an assistant general counsel to have. According to a assistant general counsel resume, "lawyers help their clients resolve problems and issues" assistants general counsel are able to use analytical skills in the following example we gathered from a resume: "provided risk analysis and developed strategies as a result of past litigation experiences for owned and managed operations. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many assistant general counsel duties rely on interpersonal skills. This example from a assistant general counsel explains why: "lawyers must win the respect and confidence of their clients by building a trusting relationship so that clients feel comfortable enough to share personal information related to their case." This resume example is just one of many ways assistants general counsel are able to utilize interpersonal skills: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
  • Assistants general counsel are also known for problem-solving skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a assistant general counsel resume: "lawyers must separate their emotions and prejudice from their clients’ problems and objectively evaluate the relevant applicable information" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "avoided further litigation by negotiating resolutions that minimized penalties and compliance plan costs. "
  • A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "research skills" is important to completing assistant general counsel responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way assistants general counsel use this skill: "lawyers need to be able to find those laws and regulations which apply to a specific matter, in order to provide the 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. "
  • Yet another important skill that an assistant general counsel must demonstrate is "speaking skills." Lawyers must be able to clearly present and explain their case to arbitrators, mediators, opposing parties, judges, or juries, because they are speaking on behalf of their clients. This is clearly demonstrated in this example from an assistant general counsel who stated: "represented client in cargo litigation cases, including preparation of discovery responses, court appearances and conducting of arbitration hearing. "
  • While "writing skills" is listed last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to assistant general counsel responsibilities. The skill is described by this resume snippet, "lawyers need to be precise and specific when preparing documents, such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney." Here is an example of how this skill is used, "provide risk management recommendations to marketing, litigation management, product, underwriting, and personal and commercial lines business units. "
  • See the full list of assistant general counsel skills.

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    What Bankruptcy Specialists Do

    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.

    We looked at the average assistant general counsel annual salary and compared it with the average of a bankruptcy specialist. Generally speaking, bankruptcy specialists receive $105,729 lower pay than assistants general counsel per year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between assistants general counsel and bankruptcy specialists are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like litigation, legal risks, and probate.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. An assistant general counsel responsibility is more likely to require skills like "legal advice," "legal issues," "juris," and "legal support." Whereas a bankruptcy specialist requires skills like "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    Bankruptcy specialists really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $47,222. Whereas 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Next up, we have the senior attorney profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to an assistant general counsel annual salary. In fact, senior attorneys salary difference is $30,225 lower than the salary of assistants general counsel per year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Assistants general counsel and senior attorneys both include similar skills like "legal advice," "litigation," and "legal issues" on their resumes.

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are 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 might be skilled 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.

    It's been discovered that senior attorneys earn lower salaries compared to assistants general counsel, but we wanted to find out where senior attorneys earned the most pay. The answer? The professional industry. The average salary in the industry is $135,158. Additionally, assistants general counsel earn the highest paychecks in the utilities with an average salary of $154,436.

    When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, 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.

    How a Lawyer Compares

    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.

    The third profession we take a look at is lawyer. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than assistants general counsel. In fact, they make a $25,419 lower salary per year.

    By looking over several assistants general counsel and lawyers resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "legal advice," "litigation," and "legal issues." But beyond that the careers look very different.

    There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, 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."

    Lawyers typically study at higher levels compared with 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.

    Description Of a 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.

    Contract attorneys tend to earn a lower pay than assistants general counsel by about $43,753 per year.

    While both assistants general counsel and contract attorneys complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like legal advice, litigation, and legal issues, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "legal support," "human resources," "ethics," and "risk management" are skills that have shown up on assistants general counsel resumes. Additionally, contract attorney uses skills like e-discovery, privilege logs, qc, and product liability on their resumes.

    Contract attorneys reach similar levels of education when compared to assistants general counsel. The difference is that they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 6.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.