What does an associate counsel do?
An Associate Counsel assists in protecting an organization's legal interests and maintaining its operations within the scope established by law. They are focused on the negotiation of complex acquisitions, sales, and funding.
Associate counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate counsel resumes:
- First-Chair arbitration hearings and achieve favorable awards.
- Develop and implement an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage agency response to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Update policies and standard operating procedures to conform to HIPAA, EEOC, FDA, and state pharmacy board guidelines.
- Assist in high-profile litigation matters involving questions of complex constitutional, federal and state law, including intellectual property disputes.
- Respond to file requests from other DHS agencies, including FOIA requests.
- Assist attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants with daily administrative tasks.
- Keynote speaker at several corporate assemblies regarding HIPAA matters and applicable state health care consent laws.
- Serve as a value legal resource for Medicare compliance for health plans and certain UHC employees.
- Counsele internal clients on legal and compliance matters relevant to the FDA regulate medical device industry e.g.
- Publish news articles and participate in press interviews on anti-counterfeiting, anti-bribery, and AML for various media.
- Research and prepare internal advice memorandums for IRS agents and examiners.
- Research and analyze legal and legislative developments in securities and insurance law.
- Provide primary oversight on all non-judicial punishment hearings and subsequent appeal proceedings.
- Review promotional materials/initiatives to ensure adherence to applicable laws, including FDA rules.
Associate counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Associate Counsels are proficient in Legal Issues, Litigation, and Legal Advice. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Associate Counsels that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Issues, 11%
Drafted client memorandums which addressed specific legal issues and applied legal principles and precedents and justified recommendations or conclusions.
- Litigation, 9%
Practice focused on complex federal procurement and commercial construction contract litigation (judicial and administrative), counseling and business transactions
- Legal Advice, 8%
Provided legal advice pertaining to Company e-commerce initiatives, intellectual property laws and federal and state record retention requirements.
- Intellectual Property, 7%
Advised business unit lawyers and business clients on technology and intellectual property law.
- Substance Abuse, 6%
Obtained RASAC II certification from the Missouri Substance Abuse Credentialing Board - Completed within a maximum security correctional facility
- Legal Research, 6%
Analyze legal and factual issues while conducting legal research to resolve common operational concerns, including patient-related situations.
"legal issues," "litigation," and "legal advice" are among the most common skills that associate counsels use at work. You can find even more associate counsel responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an associate counsel to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, an associate counsel resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "maintained litigation database and reported to business unit senior management on strategy and budget. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform associate counsel duties is interpersonal skills. Associate counsels responsibilities require that "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community." Associate counsels also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "employed interpersonal skills with outside counsel regarding litigation strategies for unresolved matters against the company. "
Problem-solving skills. associate counsels are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to associate counsel responsibilities, because "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." An associate counsel resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "investigated and resolved internal complaints and defended corporate interests in related agency or court litigation. "
Research skills. associate counsel responsibilities often require "research skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." This resume example shows what associate counsels do with research skills on a typical day: "conducted legal research and facts investigation for case litigation. "
The three companies that hire the most associate counsels are:
- Google64 associate counsels jobs
- The Walt Disney Company29 associate counsels jobs
- Advance Auto Parts17 associate counsels jobs
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Compare different associate counsels
Associate 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an associate counsel are more likely to require skills like "substance abuse," "veterans," "in-house counsel," and "mental health." On the other hand, a job as a lawyer requires skills like "law firm," "real estate," "civil law," and "juris." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that lawyers earn slightly differ from associate counsels. In particular, lawyers are 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an associate counsel. Additionally, they're 7.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate counsel vs. Student 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that associate counsel responsibilities requires skills like "litigation," "substance abuse," "legal support," and "veterans." But a student attorney might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "social security," "domestic violence," "fact investigation," and "irs."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Student attorneys tend to reach lower levels of education than associate counsels. In fact, they're 6.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 7.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate counsel vs. Senior attorney
An Attorney at Law is responsible for preparing and examining contracts involving leases, licenses, purchases, sales, etc. They advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, or legal rights and obligations.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an associate counsel is likely to be skilled in "substance abuse," "veterans," "in-house counsel," and "mental health," while a typical senior attorney is skilled in "law firm," "juris," "internal clients," and "excellent interpersonal."
Senior attorneys make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $135,158. On the other hand, associate counsels are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $152,601.When it comes to education, senior attorneys tend to earn lower degree levels compared to associate counsels. In fact, they're 5.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 19.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Associate counsel vs. Attorney at law
Types of associate counsel
Updated January 8, 2025
