The post-Enron governance clampdown last year sent pay for top US in-house lawyers soaring, according to new research that shows take-home pay for general counsel at America’s largest companies rocketed by more than 15%.

The annual survey of general counsel at the US’s top 100 companies has revealed that the median average earnings of the group reached $1.34m (£764,000), up 15.5% on 2003′s $1.16m (£661,000).