What does a legal counsel do?
A Legal Counsel supervises the legal aspects of a business. They give accurate and timely counsel to executives on a variety of legal topics, such as labor law, partnerships, or international ventures.
Legal counsel responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real legal counsel resumes:
- Achieve statewide recognition as expert on Medicare and Medicaid.
- Manage high-risk employee terminations from initial decision through preparation for appeals hearings and any subsequent legal action.
- Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
- Conduct anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) due diligence on a daily basis.
- Ensure compliance with federal securities laws, NYSE rules, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
- Draft position statements for EEO and other regulatory claims.
- Attend and prepare for hearings on appeal for veterans' claims.
- Guarantee compliance with BSA regulations by updating client files with foreign bank certificates.
- Assist and advise executive management and the board of directors on corporate and securities laws.
- Review and assist in all personnel matters for the company including all EEOC compliance and litigation matters.
- Draft and negotiate complex technology contracts, including SaaS, licensing, confidentiality, open-source and use agreements.
- Support various committees of the board for NYSE list company, including the drafting of agendas and minutes.
- Train dozens of managers on issues such as: EEO, harassment, and conducting effective internal investigations.
- Authore HIPAA and internal business-relate policies and procedures.
- Coordinate and participate in responding to document subpoenas and interrogatories.
Legal counsel skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Legal Counsels are proficient in Legal Advice, Legal Issues, and Litigation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Legal Counsels that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Advice, 11%
Provided legal advice to senior management with respect to potential disputes arising from or related to regulatory or legislative changes.
- Legal Issues, 9%
Handled legal issues involving personnel including hiring, discipline, termination, workers compensation, and unemployment compensation.
- Litigation, 8%
Created and directed litigation strategies, including human resource related issues, general corporate liability, contract liability and products liability.
- Legal Support, 7%
Provide legal support to management in all operational and administrative areas.
- Intellectual Property, 5%
Negotiated and drafted intellectual property agreements, consulting agreements, procurement agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and joint development agreements.
- Legal Risks, 4%
Updated management on legislative changes and advised management of legal risks in marketing area.
"legal advice," "legal issues," and "litigation" are among the most common skills that legal counsels use at work. You can find even more legal counsel responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a legal counsel to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what legal counsels do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a legal counsel resume shows how legal counsels use analytical skills: "initiated client contact, coverage analysis and liability investigation, established reserves, litigation management & budgeting and developed resolution strategy. "
Interpersonal skills. Many legal counsel duties rely on interpersonal skills. "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community.," so a legal counsel will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways legal counsel responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "employed interpersonal skills with outside counsel regarding litigation strategies for unresolved matters against the company. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for legal counsels to perform their duties. For an example of how legal counsel responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a legal counsel: "helped company develop and implement business and revenue growth strategies and improved company litigation and claims resolution efforts and processes. ".
Research skills. A big part of what legal counsels do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to legal counsel responsibilities because "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical legal counsel tasks: "researched and aided in the discovery of litigation evidence into the side effects of diet medications for major class action suit. "
The three companies that hire the most legal counsels are:
- Splunk93 legal counsels jobs
- Realogy
82 legal counsels jobs
- UMB Bank53 legal counsels jobs
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Compare different legal counsels
Legal counsel vs. 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a legal counsel are more likely to require skills like "legal risks," "excellent interpersonal," "in-house counsel," and "ethics." On the other hand, a job as a staff attorney requires skills like "juris," "appeals," "administrative agencies," and "real estate." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Staff attorneys earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $113,835. On the other hand, legal counsels are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $159,575.staff attorneys tend to reach lower levels of education than legal counsels. In fact, staff attorneys are 7.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Legal counsel vs. Attorney
Generally, an attorney's responsibility is to advise the client with an ongoing lawsuit on the legal procedures and provide strategies to resolve the case as early as possible. An attorney compiles necessary documents or any records for appeal and client's defense. Attorneys must acquire strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to mediate disputes and settle pending litigation for the client's best interest. In some cases, an attorney's procedure depends on any evidence and research presented during the trial period. An attorney is expected to present clients on legal proceedings, seeking justice and justifying the law.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that legal counsel responsibilities requires skills like "legal support," "legal risks," "excellent interpersonal," and "in-house counsel." But an attorney might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "law firm," "juris," "appeals," and "trial preparation."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Attorneys tend to reach lower levels of education than legal counsels. In fact, they're 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legal counsel vs. Attorney at law
An Attorney at Law is responsible for preparing and examining contracts involving leases, licenses, purchases, sales, etc. They advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, or legal rights and obligations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, legal counsels are more likely to have skills like "legal support," "legal risks," "excellent interpersonal," and "in-house counsel." But a attorney at law is more likely to have skills like "law firm," "juris," "trial preparation," and "criminal law."
Attorneys at law earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $120,546. Legal counsels earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $159,575.Most attorneys at law achieve a similar degree level compared to legal counsels. For example, they're 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 10.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legal counsel vs. Lawyer
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
Types of legal counsel
Updated January 8, 2025
