General counsel at public life sciences companies with more $10 billion in revenue made an average of $1,952,500 in total compensation last year, according to a compensation survey from BarkerGilmore.

Meanwhile, GCs at public life sciences companies with $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue received average total compensation of $1,716,000 in 2022, and legal chiefs at public companies with $500 million to $1 billion in revenue received an average of $1,102,000.

Legal chiefs at public life sciences companies with less than $500 million in revenue were the only ones at such businesses not to eclipse the $1 million average total compensation mark, but they were not too far off at $919,000.

Long-term incentives were a major driver of the significant pay packages public company GCs receive, the BarkerGilmore compensation report found.

For example, legal chiefs at life sciences companies with more than $10 billion in revenue received long-term incentive pay of $1.1 million last year. 

Additionally, GCs at public companies with $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue received $950,000 in long-term incentive pay in 2022.

BarkerGilmore, a legal and compliance executive search firm, conducted an online survey in March 2023 to assess in-house counsel and compliance compensation trends last year.

Private company compensation

The GCs at public life sciences companies make much more than their private company peers, a trend that is also apparent among general counsel at healthcare companies.

The average total compensation for GCs at private life sciences companies with more than $10 billion in revenue was $838,000, and the average total compensation for GCs at private businesses with $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue was $711,000.

Both of those figures, respectively, were more than $1 million less than the total pay packages of their peers at public companies in the same revenue categories.

Beyond the large gap in long-term incentive pay, private company legal chiefs also report receiving smaller base salaries and bonuses on average. 

For example, the average base salary for GCs at the smallest public companies was $400,000 compared to $290,000 for peers at life sciences private companies with less $500 million in revenue.

The public-private pay gap extends to other in-house counsel positions.

Managing counsel at public life sciences companies make an average of 50% more than their private company counterparts, BarkerGilmore reported, and senior counsel at public life sciences companies make an average of 9% more than their private company peers.

Qualifications

The professional credentials of in-house counsel also have a significant impact on their pay.

Top 50 law firm experience provides a 55% total compensation increase for life sciences general counsel, the report said.

Managing counsel at life sciences companies make 56% more in total compensation with a top 50 law school degree and 37% more with top 50 law firm experience.

Additionally, senior counsel with top law firm experience make 55% more at public companies and 54% more at private companies than peers without law firm experience.

“As evident from the data, organizations must be willing to pay a premium for candidates with top credentials,” said Brittney McDonough, a BarkerGilmore partner, in a press release.

The BarkerGilmore report features information based on questions answered by 500 individuals from an assortment of healthcare and life science sub-industries.

Roughly 56% of the respondents worked at private companies and 44% worked at public companies.