How to hire a general counsel

How to hire a general counsel, step by step

Here's a step-by-step general counsel hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a general counsel job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new general counsel
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a general counsel do?

Post a general counsel job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your general counsel job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a general counsel for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A general counsel's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, general counsels from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of general counsel salaries for various roles:

   Type of General Counsel	Description	Hourly rate
   General Counsel	Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.	$36-100
   Contract Attorney	A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency... Show more	$28-75
   Staff Attorney	Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.	$33-83

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Legal Issues
   • Legal Advice
   • Intellectual Property
   • Risk Management
   • Ethics
   • Human Resources
   • Legal Research
   • Legal Support
   • Corporate Governance
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • Employment Law
   • Legal Services
   • Corporate Policies

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
   • Review subpoenas and attorney letters for compliance with HIPAA and institutional guidelines and coordinate non-party depositions as needed.
   • Prepare dozens of complex commercial transactions in connection to equity and debt securities offerings.
   • Handle regulatory, compliance, licensing, and registration matters for securities broker- dealer and register investment adviser.
   • Supervise commercial litigation, arbitration and claims, including case strategy, pleadings preparation, hearings, depositions and settlement negotiations.
   • Supervise and train unit charge with securing patient medical records, ensuring compliance with Medicare and HIPAA regulations and accreditation standards.

   More general counsel duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the general counsel job description is a good way to get more applicants. A general counsel salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a general counsel in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level general counsel. Additionally, a general counsel with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average general counsel salary

   $125,248yearly

   $60.22 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level general counsel salary

   $75,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average general counsel salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$155,886	$75
   2	New York	$139,196	$67
   3	District of Columbia	$135,494	$65
   4	Colorado	$131,288	$63
   5	Connecticut	$127,112	$61
   6	Virginia	$122,091	$59
   7	Maryland	$118,895	$57
   8	Washington	$112,930	$54
   9	Mississippi	$112,504	$54
   10	Illinois	$110,915	$53
   11	New Hampshire	$106,899	$51
   12	Massachusetts	$105,513	$51
   13	Maine	$104,815	$50
   14	Nevada	$98,846	$48
   15	Texas	$97,800	$47
   16	Minnesota	$96,733	$47
   17	Georgia	$96,267	$46
   18	Michigan	$95,474	$46
   19	Oregon	$94,782	$46
   20	West Virginia	$94,403	$45

   Average general counsel salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Martin's Point Health Care	$170,697	$82.07
   2	FullContact	$169,091	$81.29
   3	Sun-Mar	$167,875	$80.71
   4	Alliance Physical Therapy Partners	$164,817	$79.24
   5	Guild Education	$162,732	$78.24
   6	Mitsui & Co.	$162,682	$78.21
   7	Anheuser-Busch	$162,202	$77.98
   8	New York City Independent Budget Office	$159,589	$76.73
   9	Aspiration	$158,006	$75.96
   10	USAA	$157,144	$75.55	3
   11	Boyd	$154,804	$74.42
   12	Low Income Investment Fund	$154,731	$74.39
   13	San Diego International Airport	$153,023	$73.57
   14	MarketStar	$152,442	$73.29
   15	SAS Institute	$152,002	$73.08
   16	American Achievement Group Holding Corp	$150,327	$72.27
   17	Presto Products	$148,259	$71.28
   18	REC Silicon	$148,165	$71.23
   19	Cudd Energy Services	$148,011	$71.16
   20	International Monetary Fund	$146,251	$70.31

4. Writing a general counsel job description

   A general counsel job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a general counsel job description:

   General counsel job description example

   The Company:
   Descartes Labs helps organizations whose success depends on the scientific analysis of observable, physical world events. We are the leading provider of geospatial analytics that create actionable intelligence by strengthening our customers' proprietary data with models of the earth. Our solutions create new sources of environmental sustainability and operational advantage and foresight for agriculture, consumer packaged goods (CPG), mining, and government users by combining machine intelligence and domain expertise into a complete operational solution.
   Descartes Labs is proud to be a remote-first, deliberately distributed organization that recognizes that people have different needs and motivations for building a life and career that matters and works for them. For this reason, we are open to our employees working from any location, in a way that enhances their well-being, productivity, and role. We focus on helping our employees produce positive outcomes and we recognize that the path to getting there will look different for different people.
   
   The Role:
   Reporting to the CEO, the General Counsel will partner with, and provide legal guidance to, the Commercial Sales, Product, and Government teams on initiatives that influence and impact all aspects of the business. Managing broad legal issues, you will continuously assess and advise using a creative and pragmatic approach to directly impact the growth of the organization.
   Your Impact:Advise on legal issues affecting the business Draft and negotiate commercial agreements, including SaaS agreements, professional services agreements, OEM agreements, strategic partner agreements and data license agreements Draft and negotiate federal government customer agreements, including agreements with the US Department of DefenseAdvise internal clients on a variety of subjects, including export, privacy, governmental compliance and intellectual property matters Create and improve contract processes Support M&A transactions Manage dispute resolution matters Manage outside counsel
   What you Bring:JD degree and at least 7 years of experience in a combination of both law firm and in-house environments Deep understanding of technology licensing Ability to communicate effectively and influence the organization to make good decisions Demonstrated experience achieving practical, business-oriented results Ability to provide credible, flexible counsel and build trust with business teams Admitted to the bar in at least one state
   Who You Are:Curious. You are always exploring and experimenting, interested in why and how, seeking not only to understand but to make work and the world better. You enthusiastically share your learning with others and actively seek information and knowledge. Conscientious. You are determined, always keep your promises, and are forward-thinking. Principled and integrous, you take your commitments seriously.Humble. Unpretentious and self-aware, you cultivate compassion for others and take responsibility for your mistakes. Egos are barriers to doing the best work and always learning. Open and Inclusive. You are receptive and interested in new ideas and perspectives, even when those perspectives don't agree with your views. You value and respect difference and create ways for all people to contribute to the organization. Collaborative. You know it takes a team to get anything accomplished and you actively and inclusively work across the organization. You listen intently and openly and are always focused first on creating the best results. Adaptable. You are able to navigate changing circumstances and environments with ease and approach uncertainty with enthusiasm, while inspiring others towards effective goal setting and accomplishment.
   You belong here! If your experience and interests match with some of the above, we want you to apply. We are dedicated to building a diverse community, where employees belong, even if they are different. Scientific discovery is in our DNA, and diversity fuels innovation.
   
   Accommodations will be provided as requested by candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right general counsel for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your general counsel job on Zippia to find and recruit general counsel candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit general counsels, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new general counsel

   Once you've decided on a perfect general counsel candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new general counsel first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a general counsel?