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The differences between general counsels and assistant counsels can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a general counsel and an assistant counsel. Additionally, a general counsel has an average salary of $125,248, which is higher than the $61,229 average annual salary of an assistant counsel.
The top three skills for a general counsel include litigation, legal issues and legal advice. The most important skills for an assistant counsel are litigation, legal issues, and legal advice.
| General Counsel | Assistant Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $125,248 | $61,229 |
| Hourly rate | $60.22 | $29.44 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 50,275 | 8,574 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.
Assistant counsels are legal professionals who research and analyze various laws so they can apply them to the different legal issues that arose in a corporation. These counsels must develop an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage responses to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants. They advise other departments for legal claims related to the right of privacy and publicity as well as defamation. Assistant counsels are also required to act as labor attorneys for employees facing internal discrimination suits while dealing with FMLA, ERISA, and HIPAA issues.
General counsels and assistant counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Counsel | Assistant Counsel | |
| Average salary | $125,248 | $61,229 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $208,000 | Between $36,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Martin's Point Health Care | Baltimore City Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between a general counsel and an assistant counsel in terms of educational background:
| General Counsel | Assistant Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between general counsels' and assistant counsels' demographics:
| General Counsel | Assistant Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% | Male, 42.3% Female, 57.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |