2018 Global Compensation REPORT...compensation data is essential. This report provides insight on compensation trends from over 5,000 in-house counsel across 65 countries, making it

ACC 2018 Global Compensation Report 1www.acc.com/surveys

2018 Global Compensation REPORT

1 ACC 2018 Global Compensation Report ©2018 ACC, All rights reserved.

ACC 2018 GLOBAL COMPENSATION REPORT

Published by ACC, the world’s largest global community of in-house counsel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 2Project Overview and Methodology 3Definition of Terms 5In-House Job Title Definitions 7Key Findings 9Demographic Summary 14

©2018 Association of Corporate Counsel. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.acc.com/surveys.

This report and the information contained herein are copyrighted by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Purchase of this report does not transfer any owner-ship interest or copyright. Please contact the Copyright Clearance Center (www.copyright.com) to pay for additional rights. All additional requests for use must comply with ACC’s copyright policy located at https://www.acc.com/aboutacc/copyright.cfm. When using information from this report, the following language must appear:Reprinted with permission from the Association of Corporate Counsel 2018. All rights reserved.


INTRODUCTION

Summer 2018The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is pleased to present our 2018 Global Compensation Report. For com-panies seeking to stay competitive in the marketplace and lawyers considering career moves, access to detailed compensation data is essential. This report provides insight on compensation trends from over 5,000 in-house counsel across 65 countries, making it one of the most in-depth self-reported compensation surveys for legal de-partment professionals available.

Specifically, the report includes data on base salaries, performance-based bonuses, total compensation, equity-based pay, and retirement/pension plans across a number of important segments. These include job title, organization ten-ure, in-house tenure, law degree year, legal practice area, industry, organization revenue, number of organization employees, number of department employees, number of lawyers, company ownership structure, global region, and gender.1

We first include a methodological scope of the project along with definitions of terminology and in-house legal de-partment job titles used throughout the report. We then present a set of key findings that describe important trends and insights, followed by a demographic summary of the survey participants and an aggregated set of question by question survey results. Finally, we include full statistical distributions of base salary, bonuses, and total compen-sation by job title and across all segments and conclude with presenting the results within three countries: the US, Australia, and Canada.

Access to key data is essential to make the right decisions. When it comes to compensation, both in-house counsel and legal operations professionals will profit from the indispensable survey data shared by fellow corporate lawyers. We hope the ACC 2018 Global Compensation Report proves useful for all of your compensation-related needs.

Online Interactive Compensation DashboardWe also offer a 12-month subscription to an online interactive dashboard that allows users to examine compensa-tion in more depth than what a static document offers. This tool allows users to select any of 15 different filters to focus on the precise combination of segments of interest. If you are looking to slice and dice the data to meet your specific needs and create unlimited custom benchmarking reports, this is the tool for you.

ACC Research www.acc.com/surveys

About ACCThe Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global bar association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations, and other private-sector organizations through information, education, network-ing opportunities, and advocacy initiatives. ACC’s research is accomplished through surveys, benchmarking, focus groups, and many other services. With over 43,000 members employed in over 10,000 organizations in 85 countries, we connect our members to one another and to the people and resources necessary for their personal and professional growth.

1See Definition of Terms section for segment definitions.


PROJECT OVERVIEW & METHODOLOGY


Project OverviewThis survey opened on March 9, 2018 and closed on May 15, 2018. A total of 5,353 lawyers and legal operations pro-fessionals participated with 5,026 respondents who completed the survey. Eighty-two percent of completed respons-es reported being ACC members (n=4,113). Among members, a total of 38,535 members were invited to complete the survey with a response rate of 10.6 percent. Additional invitations to participate were sent to ACC prospects, lapsed members, non-ACC members via additional purchased samples, and other email outreach campaigns.

Interpreting the DataDue to rounding, some table and chart percentage totals may not sum to 100. Tables may not reflect 100 percentage points where “Don’t know/not sure” is not shown. Further, some response categories were collapsed in the presen-tation of results to provide a clearer or more holistic summary of the data.

Additionally, some results presented by certain segments have relatively low sample sizes. When a sample size of less than five respondents occurred, we removed any results because the size is too small to generalize and draw conclusions for that segment.

Currency: Respondents were able to enter all financial information in their local currency. Our survey program automatically converted all foreign currency into US dollar amounts at the exchange rate set on the day the infor-mation was entered. All dollar amounts reported are expressed in US dollars (US $).

Statistical TerminologyMean: This is the average value of all relevant observations. The values of each observation are summed together and then divided by the total number of observations.

Median: This is middle value of all observations ordered from low to high (also called the 50th percentile). In a list of numbers from one to 11, the median value is six. In a list of numbers from one to 10, the median value is 5.5.

Percentile: This is a value that divides a population according to a distribution of observations. It allows us to know the percentage of observations that fall above or below a particular value. For example, if we find that the median number of lawyers in a department is three (50th percentile), we then know that 50 percent of departments have more than three lawyers and 50 percent have fewer than three lawyers.

Histogram: A histogram graphically displays the full distribution of observations by indicating the number of data points that lie within a range of values. We present the distribution of responses to each compensation-specific sur-vey question in the Overall Survey Results in order to provide a visual interpretation of the results.

PROJECT OVERVIEW & METHODOLOGY


DEFINITION OF TERMS


BASE SALARY

Base salary includes earnings prior to any adjustments in taxes, insurance premiums, retirement plan contributions, bonuses, or other benefits/compensation.

BONUS

Bonus specifically refers to performance-based cash bonuses, the criteria of which is established by one’s organization. This does not include one-time signing bonuses or special awards that are variable.

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Total Compensation includes the value of base salary, all options, awards, and bonuses.

STOCK OPTIONS

Stock Options are incentives in which a company gives employees the right to buy the company’s stock at a preset price for a defined number of years into the future.

STOCK (RESTRICTED SHARES)

Restricted shares give the employee the right to acquire shares of the company’s stock, by gift or purchase, once certain restrictions such as tenure or performance targets are met. These shares vest to an employee over time.

DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN

Defined benefit plans are retirement plans based on factors such as compensation and length of service at the time of retirement. You typically make no individual contribution to these plans.

DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN

Defined contribution plans base your retirement benefits on the individual contributions that you make (e.g., “401(k)” plans in the US, “Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)” in Canada, “Su-perannuation” in Australia).

ORGANIZATION TENURE

Organization tenure refers to the length of time one has worked at one’s current organization.

IN-HOUSE TENURE

In-house tenure refers to the length of time one has worked as in-house counsel. We are specifically referring only to working in-house at an organization, not doing corporate work at a law firm.

LAW DEGREE YEAR

Law degree year refers to the year in which one received a first-level law degree. E.g., Juris Doctor (J.D.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).

INDUSTRY

Industry refers to the industry sector in which an organization op-erates based on the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) scheme.

ORGANIZATION REVENUE

Organization revenue refers to an organization’s worldwide 2017 gross revenue.

LAW DEPARTMENT BUDGET

Law department budget refers to the total inside and outside spend budgeted annually. The budget was only asked of the heads of legal departments and the heads of legal operations.

ORGANIZATION EMPLOYEES

Organization employees refers to the total number of employees in an organization.

DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES

Department employees refers to the total number of employees in a law department, including all locations.

DEPARTMENT LAWYERS

Department lawyers refers to the total number of lawyers in a law department, including all locations.

ORGANIZATION TYPE

Organization type refers to an organization’s ownership structure: public, private, state/government owned, or other.

DEFINITION OF TERMS


IN-HOUSE JOB TITLE DEFINITIONS


GENERAL COUNSEL/CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER/ HEAD OF LEGAL

The most senior legal officer in the company who is responsible for determining the company’s overall legal policy and strategic direction in support of the organization’s long term objectives. The position may have substantial responsibility for additional business units. The GC/CLO will often counsel the CEO and other high ranking executives on current and anticipated legal and busi-ness matters impacting the company.

TOP COMPLIANCE EXECUTIVE/CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER

The most senior compliance position who is responsible for de-signing, implementing, and enforcing a corporate compliance program. Ensures that the organization has a comprehensive un-derstanding of relevant regulations and educates management concerning compliance requirements. Secures the resources and authority for effective compliance implementation.

DIRECTOR OF COMPLIANCE

This position supports the Top Compliance Executive by devel-oping the operation plans necessary to implement the organiza-tion’s compliance program. Educates and trains staff of all levels throughout the organization and promotes a culture of compli-ance by advising executives and others of the advantages of a strong compliance program.

DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL

This position supports the GC in implementing the company’s overall legal strategy and may have a primary responsibility for one or more business or legal practice areas. There may be one or more Deputy GCs who report directly to the GC.

DIVISION/REGION/SUBSIDIARY GENERAL COUNSEL

The most senior legal officer of a particular division of the legal department, regional focus area, or of a decentralized standalone subsidiary company. May advise executive leadership on legal issues and risk impacting the division, region, or the subsidiary. Provides direction and leadership to legal professionals and sup-port staff and typically manages overall engagement with outside counsel.

ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL

This position supports the GC and Deputy GC in the development of the company’s overall legal strategy. Provides leadership and direction to a staff of managing lawyers and other department professionals who support the legal needs of one or more business units or practice areas.

ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL

This position supports the GC and Deputy GC in the development of the company’s overall legal strategy. Provides leadership and direction to a staff of managing lawyers and other department professionals who support the legal needs of one or more business units or practice areas.

CORPORATE/COMPANY SECRETARY

This is typically a senior-level position that serves as the central point of contact on a variety of communications and issues with the company’s Board of Directors. Responsible for planning and conducting board meetings, managing the agenda of Annual Shareholder meetings, and has general oversight in relation to cor-porate governance.

MANAGING COUNSEL/LEGAL DIRECTOR

A management-level lawyer who typically supervises a group of lawyers providing legal services. The group may be organized around a specific area of law (e.g., patent), with responsibility for all or part of a business unit or corporate function. This position may manage all or part of the internal operations of the law de-partment.

SENIOR COUNSEL

A highly experienced lawyer who has major matter, team, or cli-ent responsibilities and may have some supervisory responsibility for other lawyers on a project-specific basis. This position is not a member of the senior management team that set overall strategy of the law department. May serve business units or provide technical legal specialty support.

LEGAL COUNSEL/COUNSEL

This position may have significant case responsibilities but has no management role. Provides legal advice and recommendations for action and may receive specific direction from management or more senior law professionals as to the outcomes and schedules expected. Analogous to a law firm associate.

HEAD OF LEGAL OPERATIONS

Senior-level professional supporting the GC and/or CLO with strategic and operational management responsibility, including budgeting, systems administration, office operations, and law de-partment staffing. May also be responsible for performance mea-surement and benchmarking. Other titles for this position include: Chief Operating/Operations Officer and Director of Legal Opera-tions.

MANAGER OF LEGAL OPERATIONS

Professional responsible for a portion of legal operations, such as outside counsel and vendor management, financial management, technology management or process improvement, often with di-rect reports at the individual contributor level.

IN-HOUSE JOB TITLE DEFINIITIONS


KEY FINDINGS


Highest paying industries for general counsel The highest-earning general counsel (GC) can be found in the bio-technology and life sciences and the technical research and de-velopment sectors.1 In both industries, the top 5 percent are paid at least $3.3 million in annual total compensation. Median com-pensation for biotechnology GCs is $346,000 while that of GCs in technical research and development (R&D) is lower, at $265,000.

KEY FINDINGS

TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES 95th percentile

Biotechnology/life sciences $3.3 million

Technical/R&D $3.3 million

Accommodation/food services $3.1 million

Agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting $2.3 million

Fast-moving consumer goods/consumer services $2.1 million

TOTAL COMPENSATION AMONG GC BY INDUSTRY

TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES 95th percentile

Technical/R&D $3.0 million

Arts, sports, entertainment/recreation $1.9 million

Telecommunications $924,000

Chemicals/plastics $923,000

Aviation/aerospace $776,000

VALUE OF PERFORMANCE-BASED BONUSES AMONG GC BY INDUSTRY

1We use the terms general counsel, chief legal officer (CLO), and head of legal interchangeably. See the In-House Job Title Definitions section for complete title descriptions.

Base salary

Performance-based bonus

Total compensation

Median Median Median

Privately owned

$161,759 $25,000 $186,000

Publicly owned

$185,000 $40,000 $234,227

COMPENSATION BY ORGANIZATION OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE

Although the highest median bonuses can be found in the min-ing/quarrying industry ($150,000) and the fast-moving consumer goods/services sector ($147,500), the top end of bonus amounts are earned in the technical R&D and entertainment sectors. In both industries the top 5 percent of earners collected a seven-figure compensation package last year.

In-house earn more in public companies than in privately owned companiesBase salaries, performance-based bonuses, and total compensation are all consistently higher in public companies than in private com-panies, and by a wide margin in some cases. Median base salaries for all in-house legal positions are nearly $25,000 higher in public companies than in private ones, and there is a $48,000 difference when comparing total compensation. At the GC level, median total compensation is significantly higher in public companies ($399,000) than in private companies ($225,000). The gap between public and private is as prominent for non-GC in-house lawyers as well, with those in public companies reporting a median total compensation of $225,000 as opposed to $165,000 in private companies.

Seniority and tenure are key factors influencing compensationIt should come as no surprise that seniority in legal position and length of tenure significantly affect compensation levels. We present the median and top 5 percent values in total compensa-tion across our standard list of in-house legal positions, compli-ance-specific positions, and legal operations positions. Increases in compensation are relatively large when moving from a non-man-agement-level position (legal counsel) to a management-level po-sition (managing counsel/legal director). However, these large in-creases begin to diminish at the more senior levels (assistant GC through heads of legal) and show a steadier upward trajectory.

Median 95th percentile

Standard in-house legal positions

GC/CLO/head of legal $243,000 $1,137,421Deputy GC $280,000 $875,000Division/region/subsidiary GC $253,399 $593,000Associate GC $240,000 $512,000Assistant GC $224,200 $466,603Corporate/company secretary $265,179 $1,100,000Managing counsel/legal director $233,412 $460,000Senior counsel $195,496 $373,362Legal counsel/counsel $125,000 $235,997

Compliance — specific positionsTop compliance executive/chief compliance officer $290,000 $1,092,500Director of compliance $202,000 $465,000

Legal operations — specific positionsHead of legal operations $189,063 $464,037Manager of legal operations $120,000 $275,000

TOTAL COMPENSATION BY JOB POSITION

Note: The job titles above are not necessarily ordered by seniority. For example, the head of legal operations is often a high-ranking position, while different levels of GC are often more senior than a compliance director. See the In-House Job Title Definitions section for complete title descriptions.


Capital markets and antitrust are top earning practice areas for male and female in-house counselIn-house counsel specializing in capital markets, securities, and finance earn a median total compensation of $280,000—37 per-cent more than the median of all respondents. The median of law-yers working in mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust and trade regulations is $252,000 and $246,000, respectively. The top five highest-paying practice areas also include environmental regula-tion and employee benefits/executive compensation, with counsel working in these specialties earning a median total compensation of $240,000.

The top 5 percent of those compensated are in practice areas that largely align with those that have the highest median salaries, with the sole exception being government relations. Those in this prac-tice area are not in the top five in median salaries but do break the top five when considering the top end of earners. The top five percent of earners in each of the top five practice areas make over $1 million in total compensation, with capital markets/securities/finance the highest at $1,200,000.

The number of years worked at one’s organization as well as years worked in-house overall are directly related to compensation lev-els. The median total compensation for all survey respondents with one year or less working in-house is $135,000 and steadily increas-es over time with a median of $200,000 over six to 10 years and $300,000 with over 20 years in-house. A similar trend holds true for years worked at an organization (regardless of work experience prior to one’s current job). Total compensation with less than one year of experience at an organization is $170,000. It increases to a median of $229,131 after six to 10 years and reaches $310,000 with a tenure of 20 years or more.

Total compensation

n= Median 95th percentile


Antitrust/trade regulation 539 $246,214 $1,060,000Bankruptcy 182 $221,000 $650,000Capital markets/securities/finance 614 $280,000 $1,200,000Companywide compliance 1,490 $214,819 $800,000Contracts — commercial 3,000 $196,636 $594,000Contracts — government 752 $185,000 $578,972Corporate governance 1,661 $225,000 $910,000Cybersecurity/IT governance 817 $214,500 $875,000Data privacy 1,319 $200,000 $650,000Employee benefits/executive compensation 552 $239,682 $1,000,000Employment and labor 1,468 $210,000 $657,000Environment (regulatory only) 252 $240,000 $875,000General corporate/commercial 2,906 $203,000 $700,000Generalist/non-specialist 1,193 $200,000 $608,000Government relations/regulatory (excluding environment) 595 $224,000 $1,098,613Healthcare 487 $220,000 $650,000Industry-specific specialist 754 $203,725 $595,000International 805 $228,000 $850,000Intellectual property — general 1,320 $210,000 $673,000Intellectual property — licensing 802 $207,900 $550,000Intellectual property — patent 413 $238,000 $617,428Intellectual property — trademark 685 $208,109 $570,000Litigation 1,517 $220,000 $758,000Mergers and acquisitions 1,233 $252,000 $1,050,000Property and casualty/insurance 411 $200,000 $788,000Real estate 901 $210,000 $700,000Tax 188 $226,500 $750,000

TOTAL COMPENSATION BY LEGAL PRACTICE AREA (ALL JOB POSITIONS)

Note: Respondents were able to select multiple practice areas. Green cells indicate the top five most highly compensated practice areas by median and 95th-percentile values.

KEY FINDINGS

Organization tenure In-house tenure

Median Median

1 year or less $170,000 $135,000

2 to 3 years $185,000 $155,000

4 to 5 years $194,186 $175,537

6 to 10 years $229,131 $200,000

11 to 15 years $260,000 $241,972

16 to 20 years $292,275 $274,000

20 or more years $310,000 $300,000

TOTAL COMPENSATION BY ORGANIZATION AND IN-HOUSE TENURE


KEY FINDINGS

Legal operations field flourishing in the United States and in larger companiesHeads of legal operations earn a median total compensation of $189,063, while the median total compensation for managers of legal operations is $120,000. However the top 5 percent of heads of legal operations make at least $464,037. The top five percent of legal operations managers make a minimum of $275,000. Legal operations managers top out at $309,000 and head of legal oper-ations maximum salary is $673,000. Thirty-eight percent of legal operations professionals in small legal departments with less than 10 lawyers have a distinct legal operations function compared with 74 percent in departments of 50 lawyers or more.

Legal operations respondents are mainly from the United States (73 percent); followed by Europe, 8 percent; the Asia-Pacific re-gion, 5 percent; Latin America, 5 percent; Canada, 3 percent; Afri-ca and the Middle East, 2 percent.

Base salaryPerformance-based bonus

Total compensation


Head of legal operations

$150,000 $37,750 $189,063

Manager of legal operations

$112,000 $15,199 $120,000

COMPENSATION BY LEGAL OPERATIONS POSITIONS

similar experience levels overall and in their current position. The gender compensation gap shrinks for GCs who received a degree after 2009, indicating more parity for newer lawyers. For exam-ple, the disparity in median compensation among GCs who re-ceived a law degree after 2015 is $35,500 — less than half of the gap found among GCs who received a law degree before the year 2000 ($85,000).

Expats earn more than their local in-house peersTwo percent of respondents indicated they work in a location out-side of their home country. The median total compensation for those working abroad is substantially higher than that of respondents work-ing in their home country — the survey results indicate that expatri-ates receive $252,000 compared with the $204,000 that the latter earn. Expats make up a small proportion of respondents overall.

Thirty-eight percent of expatriates say their compensation is simi-lar that of their local peers; 23 percent believe their compensation is more consistent with that of the country they come from; and another third of respondents do not know or are not sure. Only in Switzerland do most foreign counsel believe their compensation is comparable to that of their local peers (64 percent). In Singapore (46 percent), the United Arab Emirates (45 percent), and the Unit-ed States (42 percent), less than half of expatriates believe their pay is commensurate with the pay of their local peers. Finally, only 11 percent of expatriate respondents in the United Kingdom think they are equally compensated than their British colleagues.

Women earn less than men, but gender compensation gap among new graduates is smaller than in previous cohortsThe compensation gap between men and women at the GC level is significant, with males earning a median of $270,000 in total compensation compared with $210,000 for females, despite having

TOTAL COMPENSATION AMONG GC BY GENDER AND LAW DEGREE YEAR

Prior to 2000$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

2000 to 20009 2010 to 2014 2015 to 2018

$325,000

$240,000$227,000

$180,000$165,000

$107,000

$71,500

$135,000

Male Female

The median base salary for entry level in-house legal counsel (those in a position for one year or less) is $110,000 for females and $120,000 for males; women make 91 percent of what men earn. In terms of additional compensation, median performance-based bonuses are $10,319 for women and $13,000 for men, which means that male in-house lawyers entering the in-house field between 2017 and 2018 report 26 percent more in bonus than their female colleagues report.

Trends among recent graduates, new to in-house In terms of previous experience, 14 percent of recent graduates (lawyers who obtained their law degrees in 2015 or later) worked in a law firm before going in-house, 6 percent worked in government, and 5 percent worked in-house but in a position outside of the legal department. Recent graduates report a median total compensation of $90,000. Seventy-nine percent began their career in the legal counsel role. The median base salary of women who graduated af-ter 2015 is $80,000 compared with men at $87,125. The percentage with an experience level in an in-house position of one year and as a lawyer in any position of two years is roughly the same for male and female respondents.


KEY FINDINGS

Fifteen percent of lawyers surveyed moved directly into a corporate legal departmentSome lawyers are moving straight to in-house law departments, bypassing law firms, government, and academia. Overall, 15 per-cent of all survey respondents reported going directly in-house af-ter law school. At 6 percent, in-house counsel in Canada were least likely among regions/countries studied to start their legal career in-house, while 18.5 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific say they went directly in-house after law school.

Even a little outside legal experience pays off for in-house counselEighty percent of respondents worked in a law firm prior to going in-house, 13.2 percent worked in a regulatory-related government position, and 9.3 percent worked in a different department in the organization outside of the legal department. All of this outside experience has a positive effect on compensation levels.

Having at least two years of experience in a law firm before moving to an in-house counsel role results in a considerable compensation increase over lawyers who have worked only in-house. There are

no significant differences in compensation between those having outside experience in government and in a law firm. The medi-an total compensation of counsel who have worked only in-house is $149,000, whereas the total compensation of counsel who have outside experience is higher. Lawyers who have up to two years of outside experience earn a median of $160,000, and those with two to five years earn a median total compensation of $205,000.

In-house counsel expect salaries will continue to riseLast year, overall compensation increased for three-quarters of survey respondents. Only 3 percent of respondents declared that their compensation decreased in 2017, while a quarter reported that it remained the same. Among those who received a raise, 25 percent declared a moderate increase of less than 3 percent, while 24 percent reported an increase in compensation between 3 and 5 percent, and another 24 percent declared they received an increase of 5 percent or more.

Seventy-eight percent of in-house counsel expect some salary increase next year. GC have the greatest expectation for salary growth across all job categories, with 26 percent expecting an in-crease of at least 5 percent. This is likely because more senior po-sitions often receive stock options and restricted shares, which on average have a potential growth value that is higher than one’s base salary. Only 26 percent of GCs expect their compensation in 2018 to remain the same. Assistant GC (12 percent), managing counsel/legal directors (14 percent), and directors of compliance (16 per-cent) anticipate no change in their compensation this year.

One quarter of in-house counsel in private companies expect com-pensation gains in 2018 of at least 5 percent next year compared to one in six in public companies. Lawyers in the biotechnology and life sciences industry overwhelmingly expect (85 percent) a salary increase this year, while 31 percent of counsel in entertainment and recreation sector envision a raise of 5 percent or more in the coming year.

DIRECT FROM LAW SCHOOL TO IN-HOUSE BY REGION

18.5%

18.1%

17.7%

15.5%

11.2%

6.3%

Europe

Australia/New Zealand

US

Latin America/Caribbean

Asia Pacific

Canada

MEDIAN TOTAL COMPENSATION BY YEARS OF OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE

No outside experience

$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

2 years or less

2 to 5 years

6 to 10 years

$149,000

11 to 20 years

More than 20 years

$160,000

$205,000

$233,000 $235,000 $240,000

EXPECTED CHANGES IN TOTAL COMPENSATION (NEXT 12 MONTHS)

1.9%

Remain the same

Increase less than 1%

Decrease

Increase 1.0% to 2.9%









Increase 30% or greater

20.0%

2.5%

26.1%

23.8%

5.8%

8.4%

3.4%

5.1%

1.3%

0.7%

0.7%

0.4%


DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


n= Percentage

General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer/Head of Legal 1,332 26.5%

Top Compliance Executive/Chief Compliance Officer 149 3.0%

Director of Compliance 85 1.7%

Deputy General Counsel 380 7.6%

Division/Region/Subsidiary General Counsel 302 6.0%

Associate General Counsel 421 8.4%

Assistant General Counsel 303 6.0%

Corporate/Company Secretary 164 3.3%

Managing Counsel/Legal Director 311 6.2%

Senior Counsel 972 19.3%

Legal Counsel/Counsel 845 16.8%

Head of Legal Operations 81 1.6%

Manager of Legal Operations 56 1.1%

Other 180 3.6%

JOB TITLE

Note: Respondents were able to select more than one job title. Therefore, percentages may sum to more than 100%.

n= Percentage

Do not have a law degree 69 1.4%

1950-1959 1 0.0%

1960-1969 6 0.1%

1970-1974 15 0.3%

1975-1979 73 1.5%

1980-1984 201 4.0%

1985-1989 338 6.7%

1990-1994 621 12.4%

1995-1999 904 18.0%

2000-2004 930 18.5%

2005-2009 1,054 21.0%

2010-2014 680 13.6%

2015-2018 126 2.5%

LAW DEGREE YEAR

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY

n= Percentage

Antitrust/Trade Regulation 546 11.1%

Bankruptcy 188 3.8%

Company-wide Compliance 1523 31.1%

Contracts–Commercial 3,067 62.7%

Contracts–Government 770 15.7%

Capital Markets/Securities/Finance 629 12.9%

Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation 566 11.6%

Employment & Labor 1,505 30.8%

Environment (Regulatory only) 258 5.3%

General Corporate/Commercial 2,971 60.7%

Generalist/Non-specialist 1,216 24.8%

Government Relations/Regulatory (excluding environment) 606 12.4%

Industry-specific Specialist 768 15.7%

International 829 16.9%

Intellectual Property–General 1,352 27.6%

Intellectual Property–Licensing 818 16.7%

Intellectual Property–Patent 423 8.6%

Intellectual Property–Trademark 702 14.3%

Litigation 1,545 31.6%

Mergers & Acquisitions 1,254 25.6%

Property & Casualty/Insurance 419 8.6%

Real Estate 922 18.8%

Tax 192 3.9%

Corporate Governance 1,699 34.7%

Cybersecurity/IT Governance 828 16.9%

Data Privacy 1,341 27.4%

Healthcare 498 10.2%

Other 118 2.4%

LEGAL PRACTICE AREA(S)

Note: Multiple answers possible. Percentages may sum to more than 100%.


n= Percentage

Accommodation/Food Services 63 1.3%

Administrative/Business/Support Services 32 0.6%

Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations 43 0.9%

Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/Hunting 45 0.9%

Arts, Sports, Entertainment/Recreation 82 1.6%

Aviation/Aerospace 72 1.4%

Biotechnology/Life Sciences 86 1.7%

Broadcasting/Media 49 1.0%

Chemicals/Plastics 97 1.9%

Construction/Engineering 145 2.9%

Defense 42 0.8%

eCommerce/Online Sales 46 0.9%

Educational Services 84 1.7%

Energy 173 3.4%

Fast Moving Consumer Goods/Consumer Services 98 2.0%

Finance/Banking 444 8.9%

Healthcare/Social Assistance 226 4.5%

Information Technology 591 11.8%

Insurance 317 6.3%

Intellectual Property 14 0.3%

Holding Companies (Including management of companies and enterprises) 24 0.5%

Manufacturing 526 10.5%

Mining/Quarrying 34 0.7%

Not for Profit 129 2.6%

Oil/Gas 60 1.2%

Pharmaceutical/Medical Devices 176 3.5%

Prepared Food Stuff/Beverages 56 1.1%

Professional, Scientific, and/or Technical Services 113 2.3%

Public Administration/Government Regulation and Support 36 0.7%

Real Estate/Rental and Leasing 128 2.6%

Retail Trade 212 4.2%

Service Company and Organization 80 1.6%

Technical/Research Development 38 0.8%

Telecommunications 186 3.7%

Trade Association 14 0.3%

Transportation/Warehousing 97 1.9%

Utilities 53 1.1%

Waste Management/Remediation Environmental Services 11 0.2%

Wholesale Trade/Distribution 54 1.1%

Other 240 4.8%

EMPLOYER’S PRIMARY INDUSTRY

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


n= Percentage

Privately owned 2,257 44.9%

Publicly owned 2,346 46.7%

State/Government owned 167 3.3%

Other 253 5.0%

ORGANIZATION/COMPANY TYPE

n= Percentage

Less than 100 employees 690 14.5%

100 to 499 employees 749 15.7%

500 to 999 employees 406 8.5%

1,000 to 4,999 employees 944 19.8%

5,000 to 9,999 employees 441 9.3%

10,000 to 49,999 employees 873 18.4%

50,000 to 99,999 employees 290 6.1%

100,000 or more employees 364 7.7%

TOTAL NUMBER OF ORGANIZATION/COMPANY EMPLOYEES

n= Percentage

1 employee 430 8.9%

2 to 9 employees 1,664 34.3%

10 to 24 employees 726 15.0%

25 to 49 employees 454 9.4%



100 to 149 employees 275 5.7%

150 to 199 employees 138 2.8%

200 to 299 employees 215 4.4%

300 or more employees 529 10.9%

TOTAL NUMBER OF LAW DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES

n= Percentage

1 lawyer 658 13.5%

2 to 9 lawyers 1,824 37.5%

10 to 24 lawyers 727 14.9%

25 to 49 lawyers 462 9.5%

50 to 74 lawyers 276 5.7%

75 to 99 lawyers 121 2.5%

100 to 149 lawyers 216 4.4%

150 to 199 lawyers 102 2.1%

200 to 299 lawyers 182 3.7%

300 or more lawyers 302 6.2%

TOTAL NUMBER OF LAW DEPARTMENT LAWYERS

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


n= Percentage

Less than $25M 326 7.7%

$25M to $49M 208 4.9%

$50M to $99M 232 5.5%

$100M to $299M 502 11.8%

$300M to $499M 228 5.4%

$500M to $999M 368 8.6%

$1B to $1.9B 384 9.0%

$2B to $2.9B 251 5.9%

$3B to $3.9B 214 5.0%

$4B to $4.9B 110 2.6%

$5B to $9.9B 363 8.5%

$10B to $19.9B 357 8.4%

$20B to $29.9B 186 4.4%

$30B to $39.9B 122 2.9%

$40B to $49.9B 90 2.1%

$50B or more 314 7.4%

ORGANIZATION/COMPANY WORLDWIDE GROSS REVENUE

n= Percentage

Less than $50,000 9 0.7%

$50,000 to $499,999 379 31.0%

$500,000 to $999,999 227 18.5%

$1M to $2.9M 300 24.5%

$3M to $4.9M 107 8.7%

$5M to $9.9M 89 7.3%

$10M to $49M 73 6.0%

$50M or more 40 3.3%

LAW DEPARTMENT BUDGET

Note: The budget was only asked of the heads of legal departments and the heads of legal operations.

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


n= Percentage

United States of America 3,883 77.26%

Australia 409 8.14%

Canada 191 3.80%

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 52 1.03%

Singapore 42 0.84%

France 41 0.82%

Switzerland 41 0.82%

Germany 34 0.68%

Brazil 30 0.60%

Argentina 26 0.52%

Israel 26 0.52%

Spain 23 0.46%

Belgium 20 0.40%

Italy 20 0.40%

Netherlands 18 0.36%

United Arab Emirates 15 0.30%

India 14 0.28%

Greece 13 0.26%

Mexico 10 0.20%

China 9 0.18%

Hong Kong (S.A.R.) 8 0.16%

Japan 6 0.12%

Qatar 6 0.12%

Austria 5 0.10%

Denmark 5 0.10%

Ireland 5 0.10%

Saudi Arabia 5 0.10%

Sweden 5 0.10%

Russian Federation 4 0.08%

South Africa 4 0.08%

Viet Nam 4 0.08%

Colombia 3 0.06%

Kenya 3 0.06%

Luxembourg 3 0.06%

Malaysia 3 0.06%

Romania 3 0.06%

Bulgaria 2 0.04%

Cayman Islands 2 0.04%

Iceland 2 0.04%

New Zealand 2 0.04%

Norway 2 0.04%

Philippines 2 0.04%

South Korea 2 0.04%

Turkey 2 0.04%

Afghanistan 1 0.02%

Algeria 1 0.02%

OFFICE LOCATION

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY


DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY

n= Percentage

Male 2,582 53.3%

Female 2,246 46.4%

Prefer to self-describe 8 0.2%

Non-binary/third gender 4 0.1%

GENDER IDENTIFICATION

n= Percentage

Yes 769 16.5%

No 3,513 75.3%

Prefer not to answer 384 8.2%

MINORITY STATUS

Note: This specifically refers to underrepresented groups based on religious, ethnic, tribal, racial, skin color, or aboriginal classifications. This does NOT refer to gender.

OFFICE LOCATION (CONT’D)

n= Percentage

Bahamas 1 0.02%

Bahrain 1 0.02%

Burkina Faso 1 0.02%

Cambodia 1 0.02%

Chile 1 0.02%

Cuba 1 0.02%

Dominican Republic 1 0.02%

Egypt 1 0.02%

El Salvador 1 0.02%

Indonesia 1 0.02%

Nigeria 1 0.02%

Panama 1 0.02%

Peru 1 0.02%

Poland 1 0.02%

Serbia 1 0.02%

Trinidad and Tobago 1 0.02%

Ukraine 1 0.02%

United Republic of Tanzania 1 0.02%

Zimbabwe 1 0.02%


ACC 2018 GLOBAL COMPENSATION REPORT

Published by ACC, the world’s largest global community of in-house counsel.

This report and the information contained herein are copyrighted by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Purchase of this report does not transfer any ownership interest or copyright. Please contact the Copyright Clearance Center (www.copyright.com) to pay for additional rights. All additional requests for use must comply with

ACC’s copyright policy located at https://www.acc.com/aboutacc/copyright.cfm.

When using information from this report, the following language must appear:Reprinted with permission from the Association of Corporate Counsel 2018. All rights reserved.


©2018 Association of Corporate Counsel. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.acc.com/surveys.

ACC Headquarters Office1001 G Street, NW, Suite 300WWashington, DC 20001 USATEL +1.202.293.4103 WWW.ACC.COM

By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.®

Documents

2018 Global Compensation REPORT...compensation data is essential. This report provides insight on compensation trends from over 5,000 in-house counsel across 65 countries, making it