Font Size:

San Francisco Bay Area in-house attorneys now have new information about local compensation.

The results of a new survey -- the first put out by the Bay Area chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel -- was presented by the group in seminars late last month.

As could be expected, in-house attorneys are not hurting for cash. The average base salary during the last fiscal year, the survey found, was $188,616, with a yearly bonus of $49,011. This fiscal year, the average Bay Area corporate counsel hopes to receive a $52,707 bonus.

Bonuses for attorneys at the most senior levels of public companies, such as senior vice presidents, are more tied to company performance than those for lower-level lawyers, the survey found.

Also of note: Corporate attorneys are increasingly receiving restricted stock, typically linked to specific performance targets, and are less often getting stock options.

At this point, only the 360-some attorneys who participated in the survey, conducted by San Jose, Calif.-based Radford Surveys & Consulting, generally have access to the full findings.

Radford conducts private surveys for companies nationwide. In general, across the country, Radford has found compensation for corporate attorneys to be rising at a rate of 5 percent to 7 percent per year, said David Knopping, a vice president at Radford. "It's a validation of sorts to assess where they are in their career based on their achievements."

In-house lawyers have more high-risk responsibilities than before, especially given the reporting requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, he said.

"[The compensation increase] reflects the increased regulatory environment, placing more pressure on bringing in people with the skills to address this new environment," Knopping said, "as well as to retain the good people that companies currently have."

Subscribe to The Recorder