BarkerGilmore’s 2025 In-House Counsel Compensation Report highlights that after a robust year in 2024, salary growth for in-house counsel softened in 2025, rising just 2.8%, down from 4.4% the previous year.
Pay increases were uneven across roles: General Counsel saw a 2.5% bump, Managing Counsel 3%, and Senior Counsel 2.9%. Public company General Counsel remained the highest earners, with top compensation packages exceeding $4.5m, well ahead of the $3.3m seen at private firms, $2.8m at PE-backed companies, and $2m at nonprofits.
Yet even within public companies, compensation levels diverged significantly, with Managing Counsel earning up to $979,000 and Senior Counsel topping out at $528,000. Bonus payouts in 2025 averaged 93% of target overall, largely consistent with 2024, though General Counsel received only 88% on average, compared to 95% for their direct reports.
The gender gap in General Counsel pay widened again, reaching 5.4% in 2024 after narrowing to 4.3% in 2023, raising concerns about backsliding in pay equity.
Life sciences lead
Industry sector continued to play a major role in compensation levels, with life sciences offering the highest median total compensation across in-house roles at $474,000, followed by energy at $442,000 and consumer goods at $424,000.
Across all industries and titles, long tenures were uncommon, just 13% of General Counsel, 11% of Managing Counsel, and 12% of Senior Counsel had remained in their current role for a decade or more. As the market shifts, 60% of in-house counsels reported they were open to new opportunities in 2025, most often citing compensation and benefits as their primary motivation.
Despite high job mobility and resource strain, 81% of respondents said performance was negatively affected by limited staffing or budget. Most in-house lawyers reported reasonable satisfaction with work-life balance: 65% called it good and very good, while just 7% were dissatisfied.
Yet job security remains a live issue, with 39% expressing concern in early 2025, before potential disruptions related to governmental and financial instability.
In terms of influence, 64% of General Counsel say they were treated as key business advisors, while only half of Managing Counsel and just over one-third of Senior Counsel reported similar standing within their organizations.
General Counsel have emerged as central figures in shaping corporate strategy.
Once viewed primarily as legal gatekeepers, today’s General Counsel have emerged as central figures in shaping corporate strategy. Amid increasing regulatory scrutiny and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, boards now depend on their top legal executives not only for legal compliance but also for broader insights on governance, risk, and business direction.
This shift in responsibility has elevated the General Counsel role into one of the most influential positions in the C-suite, especially in sectors under intense regulatory pressure, such as communications and life sciences.
Reflecting this prominence, the 2024 Equilar General Counsel Pay Trends report found that median compensation for General Counsel at Equilar 500 companies surged 24.8% between 2019 and 2023, reaching $3.3m.
The pay landscape also reveals deeper trends. General Counsel with med-range tenures (6-10 years) commanded the highest earnings, with median packages of $3.7m in 2023, while those with over 20 years in the role earned significantly less, at $2.7m.
This suggests that newer hires may be receiving premium offers to switch roles amid a competitive market.
Interestingly, the report also highlights a narrowing CEO-to-GC pay ratio, falling from 4.2x to 4.0x, signaling that boards increasingly recognize thestrategic value of their legal chiefs.
Strategic shifts
The compensation and hiring dynamics for General Counsel (GCs) and Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) are entering a new phase, as seen in recent data and recruitment insights.
In her interview on the GRIP Podcast, Deborah Ben-Canaan, Partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, noted that while GC compensation remains strong, 2024 reflects a “stabilization rather than a drop,” following the pandemic-era surge.
Public company GCs still outpace peers in compensation due to the legal exposure and resource intensity of their roles, with bonus targets 53% higher than those at private firms. However, actual cash compensation dipped by 3% in the most recent survey, driven largely by decreased bonus payouts amid shifting economic tides.
CCOs, by contrast, have emerged as some of the best-paid legal executives, averaging $693,000 annually, more than GCs in many cases, a sign of the rising complexity and visibility of the compliance function within corporate structures.
“Candidates who can clearly and concisely describe their careers, supported with relevant, compelling stories in six or seven minutes, are almost always invited back.”
Deborah Ben-Canaan, Partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, GRIP podcast
BarkerGilmore’s 2024 Compliance Compensation Report supports these trends, highlighting median CCO compensation increases at public and nonprofit entities, while private firms saw a modest decline.
The pay landscape is also heavily influenced by company size: CCOs at large firms ($5 billion+ in revenue) report total packages exceeding $1.3m, while their counterparts at sub-$500m companies earn substantially less.
Reporting lines also shape influence: most CCOs (53%) still report to GCs, though Ben-Canaan emphasized the growing desire among candidates for direct access to CEOs or boards. That shift reflects a broader understanding of the CCO as a risk management linchpin, not merely a compliance box-checker.
Soft skills
Looking ahead, recruiters are focusing more on soft skills, cultural alignment, and storytelling ability when assessing candidates for top legal roles. This insight reflects a clear shift in what companies value: not just legal acuity, but strategic communication and cultural fluency.
Success in today’s legal and compliance landscape hinges not just on expertise, but on adaptability, executive presence, and strategic storytelling.
As recruiters like Ben-Canaan emphasize, the most sought-after General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officers are those who can translate complex legal issues into business-aligned solutions, communicate their impact clearly, and demonstrate a track record of influencing outcomes at the highest levels.
“The candidates who can clearly and concisely describe their careers, supported with relevant, compelling stories in six or seven minutes, are almost always invited back for additional rounds of interviews,” she said on The GRIP Podcast.
In a market where top talent is expensive and competition fierce, candidates who blend technical acumen with cultural fit, emotional intelligence, and the ability to guide corporate governance through volatility are the ones who rise, regardless of whether they hold a JD or manage AI risk directly.
