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The differences between general counsels and partners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a general counsel, becoming a partner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a general counsel has an average salary of $125,248, which is higher than the $76,119 average annual salary of a partner.
The top three skills for a general counsel include litigation, legal issues and legal advice. The most important skills for a partner are patients, customer service, and healthcare.
| General Counsel | Partner | |
| Yearly salary | $125,248 | $76,119 |
| Hourly rate | $60.22 | $36.60 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 50,275 | 45,758 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
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.
A business partner is responsible for providing strategies and recommendations on how the business will operate, increasing its revenues while sharing profits. Business partners must have extensive knowledge of how the current market industry works to identify the best decisions for the business. A business partner should also be engaged in suggesting new services and offers that the company might consider for its clients. Business partners must also keep the confidentiality of their partnering business administration at all times.
General counsels and partners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Counsel | Partner | |
| Average salary | $125,248 | $76,119 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $208,000 | Between $31,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Martin's Point Health Care | Sidley Austin |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a general counsel and a partner in terms of educational background:
| General Counsel | Partner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Law | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between general counsels' and partners' demographics:
| General Counsel | Partner | |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% | Male, 62.3% Female, 37.7% |
| 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, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |