What does a Corporate Counsel do?
A Corporate Counsel, also known as a corporate lawyer, works for a business or company providing legal advice to the employer. They usually work in the employers main office, but also can travel to participate in meetings, trials, and other legal proceedings.
Corporate counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real corporate counsel resumes:
- Lead and conduct interrogatories and depositions.
- Develop, implement and manage key business ethics programs including FCPA compliance and other anti-bribery/anti-kickback programs.
- Manage all product liability, general commercial, environmental, intellectual property and real estate relate claims and litigation matters.
- Manage all aspects of lease-relate litigation involving commercial, collection and personal injury lawsuits, including case planning and discovery processes.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Prepare corporate governance documentation, codes of ethics and negotiate acquisition, ventures and outsourcing.
- Organize and submit responses to discovery requests including subpoenas and document production demands in all litigation.
- Perform CPR or aid any member that needs help in order to prevent injury.
- Perform life guarding duties, CPR train, supervise large groups of campers and counselors, and teach merit badges
- Draft and review statements of work, contract amendments, non-disclosure, evaluation agreements and business associate agreements under HIPAA.
- Advise on HIPAA, Medicare/Medicaid compliance matters and business associate relationships.
- Review securities and regulatory developments to assess their impact on current and future liabilities.
- Research, develop and implement new procedures for responding to subpoenas and information requests.
- Review veterans' benefits appeals and research and draft appellate opinions for administrative law judges
- Prepare and negotiate contracts for client-host software and SaaS solutions for domestic and international customers.
Corporate counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Corporate 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 Corporate Counsels that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Issues, 9%
Counseled dynamic roster of business clients on comprehensive legal issues related to contract formation, administration, and conflict resolution.
- Litigation, 8%
Supervised outside counsel in the management of litigation on a wide variety of cases including regulatory litigation against United States Government.
- Legal Advice, 8%
Provided legal advice to the Investment and Treasury departments regarding contractual matters and insurance company investment regulation.
- Intellectual Property, 6%
Researched the viability of industry-specific patent applications and worked closely with research departments to ensure protection of all proprietary Intellectual Property.
- Legal Support, 6%
Reviewed, revised and negotiated transaction documents and confidentiality agreements and provided all aspects of legal support for investment transactions.
- Legal Risks, 4%
Worked directly with senior level executives on legal risk of business decisions and contract negotiations.
Common skills that a corporate counsel uses to do their job include "legal issues," "litigation," and "legal advice." You can find details on the most important corporate counsel responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a corporate counsel to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what corporate counsels do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a corporate counsel resume shows how corporate counsels use analytical skills: "employed disciplined litigation risk analysis process to significantly reduce overall portfolio of litigation risk to my employer. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform corporate counsel duties is interpersonal skills. Corporate 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." Corporate counsels also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
Problem-solving skills. corporate counsels are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to corporate counsel responsibilities, because "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." A corporate counsel resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "work with and manage outside counsel on favorable resolutions relating to both commercial litigation and commercial transactions. "
Research skills. corporate 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 corporate counsels do with research skills on a typical day: "prepared business and litigation strategy and conducted analytical and legal research. "
The three companies that hire the most corporate counsels are:
- Iron Mountain174 corporate counsels jobs
- Amazon101 corporate counsels jobs
- Micro Focus (US), Inc.101 corporate counsels jobs
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Compare different corporate counsels
Corporate 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 a corporate counsel are more likely to require skills like "legal risks," "internal clients," "risk management," and "in-house counsel." 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 corporate counsels. In particular, lawyers are 7.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a corporate counsel. Additionally, they're 23.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Corporate counsel vs. Student 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, corporate counsel responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "litigation," "legal support," "legal risks," and "internal clients." Meanwhile, a student attorney has duties that require skills in areas such as "legal memoranda," "social security," "domestic violence," and "fact investigation." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Student attorneys earn similar levels of education than corporate counsels in general. They're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 23.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Corporate counsel vs. Attorney at law
Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, corporate counsels are more likely to have skills like "legal support," "legal risks," "internal clients," and "risk management." But a attorney at law is more likely to have skills like "law firm," "juris," "trial preparation," and "civil litigation."
Attorneys at law earn the highest salary when working in the retail industry, where they receive an average salary of $120,546. Comparatively, corporate counsels have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $155,816.Most attorneys at law achieve a similar degree level compared to corporate counsels. For example, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Corporate counsel vs. Staff attorney
Types of corporate counsel
Updated January 8, 2025
