How To Become A Corporation Counsel: What It Is and Career Path

What is a corporation counsel and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a corporation counsel. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.67 an hour? That's $97,070 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 80,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a corporation counsel?

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

Associate Professor of Paralegal Studies, Website

Find a mentor and be involved with your local legal associations. Porter Gale said, “your network is your net worth.” And, I couldn’t agree more! As a new paralegal, legal operations specialist, or attorney, growing your network helps in all aspects of your career. You will gain new skills, increase your business development ability, engage in meaningful volunteering opportunities, and truly find an area of law you want to specialize in.

ScoreCorporation CounselUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $97,070

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 5.60%

Hispanic or Latino 7.83%

Unknown 4.38%

White 75.44%

Gender

female 43.51%

male 56.49%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a corporation counsel

Explore corporation counsel education requirements

Most common corporation counsel degrees

Bachelor's

45.6 %

Doctorate

44.2 %

Master's

5.5 %

Start to develop specific corporation counsel skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	20.46%
Legal Research	11.42%
Legal Opinions	6.61%
Motion Practice	5.95%
Administrative Hearings	4.86%

Complete relevant corporation counsel training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New corporation counsels learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a corporation counsel based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real corporation counsel resumes.

Research corporation counsel duties and responsibilities

Manage the in-house final appeals process for all labor grievances.
Achieve statewide recognition as expert on Medicare and Medicaid.
Engage in all aspects of litigation process under supervising attorney, including drafting motions, issuing interrogatories, and conducting depositions.
Represent city in summary conviction appeals and hearings before magisterial district judges.

Prepare your corporation counsel resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your corporation counsel resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable corporation counsel resume templates

Build a professional corporation counsel resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your corporation counsel resume.