Periodically, general counsel wish that they had compensation data so they can compare what they make or what their lawyers make. If someone pushes hard for a raise or the department extends an offer to a new hire, it helps to know market rates. General counsel can buy such data from a few sources, find out pieces of such information online, or they can try to collect data from peer companies. Whatever the source, the data they typically obtain show base pay plus cash bonuses according to groups of lawyers with similar attributes, such as industry, years out of law school or primary practice area. The general counsel then draws conclusions from whatever data are available from the study.
Pages of tables of median amounts paid with little explanation are the common fare: Familiar and easy to read, tables pale in effectiveness against more sophisticated presentations. Much more could be done with compensation figures if there are enough of them and if the analysis and presentation move beyond the traditional format of tables. This article describes some of those better forms of presentation of, and therefore insights into, in-house compensation levels.
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