What does a deputy chief counsel do?
Deputy Chief Counsels are responsible for directing and overseeing legal operations in a governmental department or a company. Their duties include acting as second in command in the absence of the chief counsel, supervising other legal programs, building a relationship with external constituencies and legal government departments, acting as a legal representative for a company or government, and developing attorney-client relationship policies. They also formulate legal representation strategies, provide legal advice to board members, assist with public and government inquiries, and administer legal budgeting.
Deputy chief counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real deputy chief counsel resumes:
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Develop strategy, participate and support for various litigation, arbitration and/or mediation procedures regarding new and existing patent license agreements.
- Draft subpoenas and last chance letters to ensure compliance as well as pretrial memoranda, answers and motions.
- Contact taxpayers via mail and phone as well as draft subpoenas as well as last chance letters to ensure compliance.
- Compose advisory memorandums and conduct research for counsel attorneys and appeals agents.
- Provide internal assistance on corporate transaction and consolidate return questions, including at examination and appeals level.
- Advise board of directors and executive team regarding assessment and management of compliance, operational, regulatory and litigation risk.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Serve as sole attorney representing this SaaS company providing proprietary financial applications to the banking and brokerage industries.
Deputy chief counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Deputy Chief Counsels are proficient in Legal Advice, Administrative Law, and IRS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Deputy Chief Counsels that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Advice, 28%
Provided high-quality and effective legal advice and representation to California's primary energy agency.
- Administrative Law, 18%
Advised employees of the Department's statistical agencies on matters relating to their programmatic authority and administrative law.
- IRS, 11%
Assisted with the conversion from a manual system to an automated system of all IRS Office of Chief Counsel case files.
- Litigation, 8%
Advised board of directors and executive team regarding assessment and management of compliance, operational, regulatory and litigation risk.
- Revenue Service, 5%
Participated in work groups with Internal Revenue Service employees and the public discussing the application of new developments in tax law.
- Intellectual Property, 3%
Implemented patent protection systems and processes to mitigate trademark infringement and intellectual property risk.
Common skills that a deputy chief counsel uses to do their job include "legal advice," "administrative law," and "irs." You can find details on the most important deputy chief counsel responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a deputy chief counsel to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what deputy chief counsels do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a deputy chief counsel resume shows how deputy chief counsels use analytical skills: "managed legal office document retrievals and task assignment systems to include trouble shooting and recently developed litigation database. "
Interpersonal skills. Many deputy chief counsel duties rely on interpersonal skills. "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community.," so a deputy chief counsel will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways deputy chief counsel responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for deputy chief counsels to perform their duties. For an example of how deputy chief counsel responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a deputy chief counsel: "managed all aspects of global litigation and alternative dispute resolution. ".
Research skills. deputy chief 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 deputy chief counsels do with research skills on a typical day: "improved and expanded legal research skills while preparing extensive legislative history and statutory interpretation presentations. "
The three companies that hire the most deputy chief counsels are:
- Kimberly-Clark3 deputy chief counsels jobs
- New York State Restaurant Association3 deputy chief counsels jobs
- Honeywell2 deputy chief counsels jobs
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Compare different deputy chief counsels
Deputy chief counsel vs. Litigation associate
A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, deputy chief counsel responsibilities require skills like "legal advice," "administrative law," "irs," and "tax laws." Meanwhile a typical litigation associate has skills in areas such as "law firm," "discovery motions," "insurance coverage," and "pre-trial motions." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Litigation associates really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $151,203. Comparatively, deputy chief counsels tend to make the most money in the media industry with an average salary of $124,466.litigation associates tend to reach lower levels of education than deputy chief counsels. In fact, litigation associates are 7.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 17.8% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Deputy chief 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.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real deputy chief counsel resumes. While deputy chief counsel responsibilities can utilize skills like "irs," "revenue service," "dhs," and "appeals," lawyers use skills like "law firm," "civil law," "juris," and "social security."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Lawyers tend to reach similar levels of education than deputy chief counsels. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 17.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Deputy chief counsel vs. Attorney
Generally, an attorney's responsibility is to advise the client with an ongoing lawsuit on the legal procedures and provide strategies to resolve the case as early as possible. An attorney compiles necessary documents or any records for appeal and client's defense. Attorneys must acquire strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to mediate disputes and settle pending litigation for the client's best interest. In some cases, an attorney's procedure depends on any evidence and research presented during the trial period. An attorney is expected to present clients on legal proceedings, seeking justice and justifying the law.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, deputy chief counsels are more likely to have skills like "irs," "tax laws," "revenue service," and "dhs." But a attorney is more likely to have skills like "law firm," "juris," "real estate transactions," and "probate."
Most attorneys achieve a lower degree level compared to deputy chief counsels. For example, they're 5.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 10.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Deputy chief counsel vs. Legal administrator
The job of legal administrative assistants is to provide support to lawyers and paralegals. They typically perform legal research, manage schedules, and draft legal-related documents. Other duties include interpreting laws, regulations, and rulings in legal documents, obtaining information from other agencies or organizations, and preparing management and legal reports. In addition, legal administrative assistants are responsible for updating and maintaining databases and ensuring to provide effective administrative assistance. They are also expected to schedule client meetings and court hearings.
Types of deputy chief counsel
Updated January 8, 2025
