General counsel at huge US companies are handsomely rewarded - August 13, 2008

 - www.lawdepartmentmanagementblog.com

General counsel at huge US companies are handsomely rewarded

Of the Fortune
500 general counsel who were among their company’s five highest-paid
officers in 2007, the 100 with the highest cash compensation had an
average salary of $567,195. Twice as high, at $1,039,931 was their
average bonus/nonequity incentive cash compensation. On top of that
pile of cash, their average stock award (restricted stock grant) was
$1,324,232 while their average stock option value was $720,470.

In sum, from Amy Miller’s detailed report in Corp. Counsel,
Vol. 15 Aug. 2008 at 76, the four component averages expressed as a
percentage of the average total pay package were 15 percent salary, 30
percent bonus, 36 percent stock award, and 19 percent stock options.
All of that amounted to a stupendous $3.6 million average total
compensation for the 100 general counsel researched

Note that a “bonus” is defined as a discretionary cash distribution.
“Nonequity incentive compensation” is tied to the company’s achievement
of specific financial metrics, such as profits, revenue or operating
income.