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The differences between general counsels and senior attorneys 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 a senior attorney. Additionally, a general counsel has an average salary of $125,248, which is higher than the $111,002 average annual salary of a senior attorney.
The top three skills for a general counsel include litigation, legal issues and legal advice. The most important skills for a senior attorney are litigation, law firm, and legal advice.
| General Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $125,248 | $111,002 |
| Hourly rate | $60.22 | $53.37 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 50,275 | 10,445 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| 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.
A Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.
General counsels and senior attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Average salary | $125,248 | $111,002 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $208,000 | Between $67,000 And $183,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Martin's Point Health Care | Clifford Chance |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a general counsel and a senior attorney in terms of educational background:
| General Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Doctoral Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between general counsels' and senior attorneys' demographics:
| General Counsel | Senior Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% | Male, 60.1% Female, 39.9% |
| 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, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 6.2% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |