What is a General Counsel?

A general counsel is a chief lawyer working for a company or a governmental office. He/She or she acts as the legal representative of the organization and provides expert and strategic legal advice to the management.

General counsels draft contracts for the various operations of the company or organization they work for. They manage copyright and trademark issues, hold on to business records, and make sure the business strategies of the company respect legal regulations.

This is far from an entry-level position. You will need a law degree to be considered, as well as ample experience working in your field. Excellent communication skills and professional integrity are a must, but these, ideally, come with being a successful lawyer.

What Does a General Counsel Do

There are certain skills that many general counsels have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what a General Counsel does

How To Become a General Counsel

If you're interested in becoming a general counsel, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 44.5% of general counsels have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.8% of general counsels have master's degrees. Even though most general counsels have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a General Counsel

Top General Counsel Jobs Near You

General Counsel Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of partner you might progress to a role such as principal eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title principal.

General Counsel

Assistant Vice President

7 Years

Principal

Senior Vice President

Top Careers Before General Counsel

Associate (569,041 Jobs)

13.9 %

Attorney (10,991 Jobs)

12.3 %

Law Clerk (75,014 Jobs)

11.1 %

Top Careers After General Counsel

Attorney (10,991 Jobs)

18.7 %

Vice President (119,530 Jobs)

6.5 %

Contract Attorney (13,592 Jobs)

6.0 %

Average Salary for a General Counsel

General Counsels in America make an average salary of $125,248 per year or $60 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $208,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $75,000 per year.

Average General Counsel Salary

$125,248 Yearly

$60.22 hourly

$75,00010%

$125,000Median

$208,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of General Counsel

The role of a general counsel includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general general counsel responsibilities:

Serves as lead attorney for the company’s active nutrition business, including ongoing legal advice
Provide effective and strategic advice and analysis to company, its executives
1. Provides legal advice to the board of directors, superintendent,

There are several types of general counsel, including:

Legal Extern

Role:

Let's rip the Band-Aid off, shall we? As a legal extern, you're probably not going to get paid. But what you take away from these opportunities may prove more useful in the longterm. What you'll take away from a legal externship will be experience and academic credit. Which really is priceless, if you ask us.

You'll have experience right off the bat within a legal setting. This definitely will give you an edge against your other colleagues. A legal extern is very similar to an internship, but is usually much shorter. So while you're getting the experience, you don't have to commit to it for as long.

Since being a legal extern won't last very long, it's a good way to see if you even want to work in the legal industry. It'll give you a glimpse into everything you will be doing, like conducting client interviews, making a court appearance, and even some legal research and writing. Just think of it as a very in-depth glimpse into "a day in the life" of a legal profession.

Average Salary: $47,238
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Attorney

Role:

An attorney's job is to be there for people who are down on their luck, legally, of course. They provide legal advice to individuals, businesses and even government agencies (yes, the government can get into trouble too).

While a degree in law may not sound too bad, this profession also requires that you pass the bar exam. Which, if you haven't heard of before, it's pretty difficult to pass. If you're willing to put in the study hours, though, the average attorney makes $122,960 a year. So that's definitely a plus.

Average Salary: $109,476
Degree: Doctoral Degree

Contract Attorney

Role:

Whether you're a recent law graduate or a seasoned professional with years of experience, becoming a contract attorney might be the best way to generate money using your legal skills. Working as a contract attorney may help secure your dream position, or it may help you make a steady income while you search for that dream job. Not only will you learn valuable skills, but you can also build a valuable network of professional contacts.

In general, a contract attorney works on legal cases on an as-needed or temporary basis. Contracts can be for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few years. Generally, a contract lawyer's core responsibility is drawing up and reviewing legal contracts and documents. They may also perform contract research, prepare case strategies, offer legal advisory services to clients, and support the litigation team.

This position requires a bachelor's degree, a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a law degree, and a Bar certification. Contract lawyers must possess excellent research and multitasking skills, be detail-oriented, and have an ability to adapt to new situations regularly. They may work for an agency, serve as a part of an in-house legal department, or work for a law firm.

Average Salary: $97,474
Degree: Doctoral Degree

States With The Most General Counsel Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active general counsel jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where general counsels earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of General Counsel Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	4,595	$146,919
2	New York	1,625	$136,511
3	Pennsylvania	1,572	$97,019
4	Massachusetts	1,008	$105,194
5	Washington	854	$112,471
6	New Jersey	797	$98,408
7	Oregon	478	$95,723
8	Connecticut	381	$126,253
9	Texas	255	$95,495
10	Florida	235	$87,462
11	Nebraska	227	$88,561
12	Idaho	204	$76,325
13	New Hampshire	186	$107,047
14	Delaware	171	$95,213
15	Illinois	165	$110,198
16	Maine	152	$103,791
17	Rhode Island	138	$105,846
18	Georgia	121	$95,819
19	North Carolina	121	$90,972
20	Virginia	114	$120,379
21	North Dakota	105	$118,307
22	Colorado	99	$129,744
23	Minnesota	82	$96,556
24	Ohio	82	$81,525
25	South Dakota	80	$89,450
26	Michigan	70	$95,494
27	Arizona	69	$88,623
28	Missouri	60	$78,058
29	Maryland	53	$118,154
30	Indiana	53	$73,711
31	Vermont	48	$109,229
32	Wisconsin	40	$86,832
33	Utah	38	$97,362
34	South Carolina	36	$87,427
35	Tennessee	32	$85,286
36	Arkansas	28	$69,280
37	Wyoming	22	$72,383
38	Louisiana	21	$88,602
39	Kentucky	18	$100,833
40	Alabama	16	$82,592
41	Kansas	16	$80,308
42	Nevada	13	$98,610
43	Oklahoma	12	$82,733
44	Montana	9	$86,934
45	New Mexico	8	$116,303
46	Iowa	8	$93,600
47	Hawaii	4	$91,291
48	Mississippi	3	$112,636
49	Alaska	2	$87,995
50	West Virginia	1	$94,920

General Counsel Education

General Counsel Majors

Law

46.4 %

Political Science

10.8 %

Business

6.8 %

General Counsel Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Business

Finance

Law

Accounting

Political Science

Top Skills For a General Counsel

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.0% of general counsels listed litigation on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.

Litigation, 12.0%

Legal Issues, 7.7%

Legal Advice, 7.6%

Intellectual Property, 5.2%

Risk Management, 4.2%

Other Skills, 63.3%

Choose From 10+ Customizable General Counsel Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use General Counsel templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your General Counsel resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

General Counsel Demographics

General Counsel Gender Distribution

Male

62%

Female

39%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among general counsels, 38.5% of them are women, while 61.5% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among general counsels is White, which makes up 75.6% of all general counsels.

The most common foreign language among general counsels is Spanish at 45.5%.

Online Courses For General Counsel That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure

1. Legal Contracts and Agreements for Entrepreneurs

This course focuses on how legal contracts may impact or impede the success of aspiring and active entrepreneurs. We explore a wide variety of legal considerations, including: * What types of legal contracts and agreements are appropriate for which entrepreneurial activities and actions? * What is the role of torts, liability, and negligence in creating and managing products and services? * How should contracts and sales agreements be created, evaluated, and negotiated? * What legal...

See More on Coursera

2. Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs

For aspiring and active entrepreneurs, this course focuses on the opportunities and challenges of intellectual property. Intellectual property is a commonly discussed, often misunderstand, element of entrepreneurship and law. Knowing how to create and manage patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets is a valuable skill for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Regardless of size and industry, a business’s intellectual property is often more valuable than its physical assets. Companies...

See More on Coursera

3. Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship

By its nature, the law touches on many aspects of entrepreneurship, making it an applicable and versatile topic of study. For aspiring entrepreneurs, it's important to understand how to form the business, work with the initial customers, and hire. For active entrepreneurs, there are critical considerations on employment law, operating policies, and managing contracts. For everyone, the role that the law plays in managing the company, and its associated risks, must be properly understood to...

See More on Coursera

Show More General Counsel Courses

Job type you want

Full Time

Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Best States For a General Counsel

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a general counsel. The best states for people in this position are California, New York, Colorado, and Connecticut. General counsels make the most in California with an average salary of $146,919. Whereas in New York and Colorado, they would average $136,511 and $129,744, respectively. While general counsels would only make an average of $126,253 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. California

Total General Counsel Jobs: 4,595

Highest 10% Earn:

$227,000

Location Quotient:

3.03

$146,919

Avg. Salary

View 4,595 General Counsel Jobs In CA

2. New York

Total General Counsel Jobs: 1,625

Highest 10% Earn:

$213,000

Location Quotient:

2.44

$136,511

Avg. Salary

View 1,625 General Counsel Jobs In NY

3. District of Columbia

Total General Counsel Jobs: 278

Highest 10% Earn:

$210,000

Location Quotient:

3.19

$133,331

Avg. Salary

View 278 General Counsel Jobs In DC

Full List Of Best States For General Counsels

How Do General Counsel Rate Their Jobs?

Top General Counsel Employers

Most Common Employers For General Counsel

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Merrill Lynch	$139,446	$67.04	18
2	Timber Lake West	$129,344	$62.18	18
3	Social Security Administration	$122,381	$58.84	25
4	City of New York	$119,418	$57.41	16
5	U.S. Department of State	$117,836	$56.65	13
6	U.S. Department of Commerce	$113,895	$54.76	21
7	U.S. Department of Defense	$111,563	$53.64	13
8	Department of Homeland Security	$103,590	$49.80	12
9	Howard University	$88,331	$42.47	17
10	The Fresh Air Fund	$87,858	$42.24	90

General Counsel Videos

LeadershipTV: The Growing Demand for General Counsel Responsibilities on Boards

The Closers Group: Why Do General Counsel Fire Their Lawyers and Law Firms

Law & Court : How Much Money Do Lawyers Make?

Becoming a General Counsel FAQs

Chief Legal Officer Vs. General Counsel

A chief legal officer focuses on the legal department and providing valid business solutions to arising problems, while the general counsel focuses on managing a company's legal compliance and corporate governance.

Have more questions? See all answers to common legal questions.

Search For General Counsel Jobs

Updated February 6, 2023

What is a General Counsel?

What Does a General Counsel Do

How To Become a General Counsel

General Counsel Career Paths

Top Careers Before General Counsel

Top Careers After General Counsel

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for a General Counsel

Roles and Types of General Counsel

Legal Extern

Attorney

Contract Attorney

States With The Most General Counsel Jobs

Number Of General Counsel Jobs By State

General Counsel Education

General Counsel Majors

General Counsel Degrees

Top Colleges for General Counsels

1. Stanford University

2. Harvard University

3. Duke University

4. University of Pennsylvania

5. Yale University

6. Cornell University

7. Georgetown University

8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

9. Northwestern University

10. University of Notre Dame

Top Skills For a General Counsel

Choose From 10+ Customizable General Counsel Resume templates

General Counsel Demographics

General Counsel Gender Distribution

Online Courses For General Counsel That You May Like

Best States For a General Counsel

How Do General Counsel Rate Their Jobs?

Top General Counsel Employers

Most Common Employers For General Counsel

General Counsel Videos

Becoming a General Counsel FAQs

Chief Legal Officer Vs. General Counsel

Search For General Counsel Jobs

General Counsel Related Careers

General Counsel Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs