Corporate Counsel
  • Home
  • News
  • Surveys
  • Resources
  • Lawjobs
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Bookstore
  • Contact

Topics » IP Insider | Labor & Employment | From the Experts | On the Job | Moves | DC Watch | International

Home > The 2012 GC Compensation Survey

Font Size: increase font decrease font

Previous

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

The 2012 GC Compensation Survey

August 1, 2012

  •    
  •    
  •    
  •      
 

Plus, strong performance one year hasn't guaranteed a passing vote the next year. "We saw instances in this year's votes where companies that received 90 percent approval last year failed," says Boyd.

Although the votes are nonbinding, companies still want to see to it that they pass with a solid majority. And that is having a big impact on what goes into executive compensation packages. Institutional Shareholder Services and other proxy advisory firms have frowned on excessive perks such as corporate jet usage for executives' friends and family, says Rattner. "We've seen some companies make pretty significant reductions," she says.

Numerous shareholder derivative actions have also followed failed say-on-pay votes. Citing breach of fiduciary duty, plaintiffs have used litigation as yet another platform for expressing dissatisfaction with excessive compensation and other perceived forms of corporate waste.

Rattner anticipates that shareholder scrutiny of executive compensation and heightened sensitivity to problematic practices will continue. The increased transparency of executive compensation will affect general counsel just like any other top executives. But Rattner expects that the effects the new requirements are having on companies will eventually stabilize. Companies are getting used to engaging in deeper risk assessment, she says, and realigning compensation practices after they do.

As companies get more comfortable with say-on-pay, the SEC continues to roll out new regulations governing executive pay. In June the commission approved a rule directing securities exchanges to adopt listing standards for public company boards of directors and compensation advisers. The rule focuses on maintaining the independence of board and compensation committee members.

Rattner predicts a "flurry of activity" when the SEC issues its final regulations on mandatory clawbacks later this year. The provisions will make it mandatory for public companies to go after incentive-based compensation from executives who have engaged in certain practices. Some business leaders have been critical of the discretion that the clawback rule will take from companies.

The unsettled economic landscape makes big-picture predictions about the future of executive compensation difficult. The crystal ball gets even cloudier when you toss in the uncertainty that accompanies a presidential election year. President Barack Obama and presumed Republican candidate Mitt Romney have both vowed to make economic recovery a top priority for their administration. Whoever wins, if there's good news to report here next year, he'll surely take the credit.

This article originally appeared in Corporate Counsel under the headline “Lower Pay is the New Black.”

Previous

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3


Subscribe to Corporate Counsel

You must be signed in to comment on an article

Find similar content

Firms mentioned

    
  • Proskauer Rose

Companies, agencies mentioned

    
  • GC
  • Semler Brossy
  • Dodd
  • San Francisco
  • Fortune 500
  • Equilar
  • Pennsylvania?based Altman Weil
  • Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance
  • Standard & Poor
  • United States Securities & Exchange Commission
  • Institutional Shareholder Services
  • Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
  • Cigna Corporation
  • Google Inc.
  • CBS Corporation
  • Philip Morris International
  • The Dow Chemical
  • Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
  • University of Delaware

Key categories

    
  • Corporate & Business Law

Most viewed stories

    
  1. Safeguarding Brand Reputation In Social Media
    •      
  2. What to Look for in a Board's Risk Director
    •      
  3. Patent Board's SAP Ruling is First Under New AIA Rules
    •      
  4. Are GCs More Than Just Legally Trained Executives?
    •      
  5. Another SEC Whistleblower, More On the Way
    •      
lawjobs.com

TOP JOBS

MORE JOBS

POST A JOB

From the Law.com Network

In-House Counsel Go to Privacy Boot Camp

In-House Changes at News Corp Ahead of Corporate Split

Proskauer, Former CFO Settle Bias Suit

Global Firms Cope With Istanbul Unrest

D.C. Circuit Nominations a Defining Moment

D.C. Circuit Nominees Widely Respected Within the Bar

Nine Tips to Avoid Starring in a Spreadsheet Horror Story

Snapshot: Tom Gelbmann

The Recorder 25: California Golden Again for Many Firms
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Capital Accounts: Judicial Branch's Brothers Don't See Eye to Eye
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Miami Photographer Sues Pop Star Justin Bieber
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Jeremy Alters Settles With Argentinian Firm For $1 Million
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Alcotest Should Be Discontinued Right Away, DWI Lawyers Say

Lawyer's Fudging of HUD Forms Draws Supreme Court Censure
  •      
    • Subscription Required

The Affordable State-Specific Practice Solution
Available in NY, NJ, PA and CT editions - research, draft and prepare even the most complex cases with ease.

Restaurant in Union Square Park Ruled Permissible
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Magistrate Judge Finds Few Benefits to Class in Settlement
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Third Circuit Could See Rise in Pay-for-Delay Litigation

Cozen Debt Forgiveness Is Campaign Contribution, Court Says
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Sorry, Charlie, Your Wife Won't Support You

Top Reasons to Take Your Husband's Name

Interim Dean Named at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Water Works: H2O Kept Lawyer-Lobbyists Busy
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Fighting Over The Fifth
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Atlanta School Defendants Rely On New Jersey Officers' Case
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Chimp Attack Victim Is Denied $150M State Lawsuit

Auto Body Case May Lead To CUTPA Reassessment

  • About Corporate Counsel   |
  • Contact Corporate Counsel   |
  • Advertise with Us   |
  • Sitemap
  • About |
  • ALM Properties |
  • ALM Reprints |
  • Customer Support |
  • Privacy Policy (updated 6/14/13) |
  • Terms & Conditions |
  • ALM User License Agreement
ALM Media