Were it not for an approximate $8 million bonus, this year’s highest paid general counsel would have appeared much lower on the list.
As found in Corporate Counsel’s 2017 General Counsel compensation survey, bonuses accounted for a significant chunk of many top GCs’ paychecks this past year, especially for tobacco giant Altria Group Inc.’s Denise Keane, who retired from the company June 30. Keane topped the list of the highest-paid general counsel, taking home more than $9 million in total cash in fiscal year 2016.
