NEW YORK (July 20, 2010) – Corporate Counsel, the nation’s leading publication for general counsel and in-house attorneys, reported today that the top in-house lawyers at the nation’s largest corporations are finally feeling the impact of the recession in their compensation packages, particularly in the area of discretionary bonuses. The magazine’s 16th annual survey of the 100 best-paid chief legal officers in the U.S., published today, reveals that the average total cash bonus for the group—combining discretionary awards with nonequity incentive compensation—dropped 18 percent, to $947,781. But other forms of compensation for these elite GCs rose—the average salary increased 3.8 percent, to almost $620,000, and stock awards grew 5.6 percent. Complete survey results are available in the August issue of Corporate Counsel and on the Web at www.corpcounsel.com.

The top spot in the survey went to Russell Deyo of Johnson & Johnson, with $6.2 million in total take-home compensation.  The GC of the consumer products giant received the largest cash bonus in the group ($3.6 million).

The bulk of the 100 lawyers on the list received bonuses in the mid-to-high six figures.  This may appear lavish, but it marks a 37.1 percent drop in traditional cash bonuses, and a 10 percent drop in its newer variant, nonequity incentive compensation (bonuses tied to specific financial metrics, like profits or revenue). Just 23 GCs received traditional bonuses, down from 33 in last year’s survey. And one general counsel—John Finneran, Jr., of Capital One—received all of his $2.3 million compensation in salary, and none from a bonus.

“The nation’s chief legal officers were mostly immune from previous downturns, but this recession was different,” said Anthony Paonita, editor in chief of Corporate Counsel.  “And now, heightened pay scrutiny means that the old lures of in-house legal work—handsome bonuses and tons of valuable stock—may be gone for good.”
A total of 14 GCs made $2 million or more by cashing out stock awards and options. Donald de Brier of Occidental Petroleum Corp. realized $13.4 million; Charles Tanabe, GC at Liberty Media Corporation, $10.7 million. In all, 79 of the 100 GCs supplemented their take-home via securities transactions.

Corporate Counsel has ranked the nation’s 100 best-paid GCs since 1994.  GCs are ranked based on publicly available cash compensation data drawn from examination of proxy statements for all Fortune 500 companies.  Survey data includes cash and bonus packages, as well as the value realized on stock cash-outs. The list also provides GC equity, including restricted stock grants and option awards.

The award-winning Corporate Counsel is published by ALM and is available on the Web at www.corpcounsel.com.

ALM, an integrated media company, is a leading provider of specialized business news and information, focused primarily on the legal and commercial real estate sectors. ALM’s market-leading brands include The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum. Headquartered in New York City, ALM was formed in 1997. For more information, visit www.alm.com.

ALM, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum are trademarks or registered trademarks of ALM Media Properties, LLC or affiliated entities.

Contact:

Lee Feldman, Peters & Feldman for ALM

Phone: (203) 341-8922

E-mail: lfeldman@alm.com