Who Are The 10 Highest-Paid General Counsel?

It depends—are we talking about cash compensation, or total compensation?

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As one year ends and another begins, it’s natural to think about… money. As 2024 gets underway, some folks are benefiting from bigger paychecks—like Biglaw associates, receiving both seniority-based salary increases, which generally take effect at the start of the year, plus the Milbank-led, Cravath-reinforced pay raise announced in late 2023.

Sure, an extra $10,000 or $20,000 is nice, especially if you have student loans to pay off. But the six-figure salaries of associates, or even the seven-figure salaries of partners, pale in comparison to the eight-figure pay packages enjoyed by the highest-paid lawyers at the nation’s largest companies.

But there’s a catch—because there’s always a catch. Are we talking about stock awards and options—which can be very large on paper, but don’t always make their way into the recipient’s bank account—or are we talking about cold, hard cash?

Let’s compare two rankings, one based on total compensation and one based on cash compensation. You’ll see some big differences.…