Some General Counsels Continue to Receive Raises While Most Take Pay Cuts in 2009

Jan. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Equilar, the market leader in executive compensation data and research, published a comprehensive analysis of general counsel compensation at Fortune 1000 companies.

In-Depth Top General Counsel Compensation: An Analysis from Equilar’s 2009 Top 25 Survey looks at data from a reported total of 275 General Counsel positions; providing insight across industries, regions, and company size, among other factors. The research report also looked at compensation, changes in pay, and perquisites.

Some key findings were in accordance with expectations:

Compensation level is in line with seniority - median income for General Counsels reporting directly to the CEO is $1.3 million, 45.7% higher than those further down the corporate hierarchy

Larger companies provide higher compensation - median General Counsel pay at companies with more than $20 billion revenue was $2,325,181, nearly three times the median pay at companies with less than $5 billion in revenue

Pay varies by region - General Counsels at companies located in the Midwest or South census regions were paid less than their peers in the Northeast or West census regions (in line with median household income distributions released by the US Census Bureau)

Others were not anticipated:

Pay by industry - Despite relatively low median revenue, companies in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications industry paid their General Counsels more than any other industry. General Counsels in the Energy, Utilities, and Materials industry received less pay than their peers – even though their median revenue was highest

Perks - Although making higher median pay, general counsels working in Technology, Media, or Telecommunications companies are less likely than their peers in other industries to receive perquisites

The complete report is provided to all Equilar Knowledge Center subscribers. Non-subscribers can request a copy of the report by visiting http://www.equilar.com/Executive_Compensation_Reports.php.

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Equilar's award-winning product suite is the gold standard for benchmarking and tracking executive compensation, board compensation, equity grants and award policies and compensation practices. Equilar products and custom research services enable corporations, human capital consulting firms, law firms, investors, individual executives, and the media to accurately compare pay packages across thousands of public companies using SEC and exclusive survey data. Equilar research is cited frequently by Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other leading media outlets. Equilar (Redwood Shores, CA) was recognized recently as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America by Deloitte, Inc., and the Silicon Valley Business Journal.