What does an associate general counsel do?

An associate general counsel assists the general counsel in protecting a company's legal interest and in handling legal issues and matters. His/Her or her other tasks include recommending legal courses of action, developing corporate governance procedures, and acting as a mediator when dealing with external stakeholders. The qualifications to become an associate general counsel include possessing excellent analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in law, political science, or any related legal field.
Associate general counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate general counsel resumes:
- Manage patent infringement litigation and third-party patent assertions, including the defense of two Japanese infringement suits to favorable conclusions.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Research and provide guidance on issues such as the corporate practice of medicine and HIPAA regulations.
- Draft contract language regarding HIPAA federal regulations.
- Assist with securities issuance and affiliates trading notification and other regular announcements including drafting press releases and filings.
- Review and advise in relation to federal securities laws/ rules, FINRA/BD rules/regulations, insurance statutes/regulations and consumer laws/regulations.
- Conceive and implement the compliance and litigation management systems and periodically report their development and effectiveness to the board of directors.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Review and evaluate various banking and treasury arrangements.
- Draft and negotiate various vendor agreements for finance, treasury and investor relations departments.
- Project manager for FATCA remediation to ensure compliance with IRS rules.
- Obtain release of IRS tax liens and improper mechanics liens against properties.
- Create and implement risk prevention policies such as discrimination and harassment awareness training and arbitration program.
- Conduct substantial research concerning all facets of employment security and administrative appeals in order to develop departmental policies and procedures.
- Experience working with government regulators and auditors, CMS, OIG, DOJ and a court appoint monitor.
Associate general counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Associates 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 Associates General Counsel that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Advice, 11%
Support business development teams by establishing legal procedures and providing legal advice, education, training and counsel on contract requirements.
- Litigation, 11%
Conceived and implemented the compliance and litigation management systems and periodically reported their development and effectiveness to the board of directors.
- Legal Issues, 10%
Investigate legal issues and recommend action to administrators, minimizing legal risk and complying with university mission.
- Legal Support, 6%
Provided legal support for development and implementation of global remediation strategy to identify risks and implement controls for regulatory compliance gaps.
- Risk Management, 3%
Developed the risk management and quality programs and maintained direct oversight of risk management department.
- HIPAA, 3%
Drafted contract language regarding HIPAA federal regulations.
"legal advice," "litigation," and "legal issues" are among the most common skills that associates general counsel use at work. You can find even more associate general counsel responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an associate general 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 general counsel resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "prepared management discussion and analysis for litigation matters for all company sec filings. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform associate general counsel duties is interpersonal skills. Associates general counsel 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." Associates general counsel 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. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of associates general counsel is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday associate general counsel duties, as "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "developed and implemented claims, litigation and resolution strategies with senior management, actuarial department and outside counsel. "
Research skills. A big part of what associates general counsel do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to associate 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 associate general counsel tasks: "managed 5 person patent litigation team and heavily participated in researching and creating litigation strategies. "
The three companies that hire the most associate general counsels are:
- Meta981 associates general counsel jobs
- Great Wolf Resorts40 associates general counsel jobs
- Citi18 associates general counsel jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable associate general counsel resume templates
Build a professional associate general counsel resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your associate general counsel resume.Compare different associates general counsel
Associate 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, associate general counsel responsibilities require skills like "in-house counsel," "ethics," "liaising," and "vendor contracts." Meanwhile a typical senior attorney has skills in areas such as "law firm," "juris," "intellectual property," and "internal clients." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Senior attorneys earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $135,158. On the other hand, associates general counsel are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $131,284.The education levels that senior attorneys earn slightly differ from associates general counsel. In particular, senior attorneys are 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an associate general counsel. Additionally, they're 3.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that associate general counsel responsibilities requires skills like "legal advice," "legal issues," "legal support," and "risk management." But a bankruptcy specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp."
Bankruptcy specialists earn a lower average salary than associates general counsel. But bankruptcy specialists earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $47,222. Additionally, associates general counsel earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $131,284 annually.In general, bankruptcy specialists achieve similar levels of education than associates general counsel. They're 3.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate 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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from associate general counsel resumes include skills like "legal support," "risk management," "human resources," and "in-house counsel," whereas a contract attorney is more likely to list skills in "e-discovery," "real estate," "intellectual property," and "privilege logs. "
Most contract attorneys achieve a similar degree level compared to associates general counsel. For example, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 7.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between associates general counsel and lawyers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an associate general counsel might have more use for skills like "risk management," "hipaa," "human resources," and "in-house counsel." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of lawyers require skills like "law firm," "real estate," "civil law," and "intellectual property. "
In general, lawyers hold higher degree levels compared to associates general counsel. Lawyers are 6.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 23.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of associate general counsel
Updated January 8, 2025











