General counsel who work at public healthcare companies make double the total compensation of their private company peers in every revenue category, according to a compensation survey from BarkerGilmore.

For example, GCs at public companies with more than $10 billion in revenue made an average of $1,625,000 in total compensation last year compared to $715,000 for their private company peers. 

At the other end of the spectrum, general counsel at public healthcare companies with less than $500 million in revenue received an average total compensation of $726,000 compared to $340,000 for GCs at private companies in that category. 

The major driver of the differences in compensation between public and private company legal chiefs was long-term incentive pay, the BarkerGilmore compensation report found. 

Along those lines, the average long-term incentive pay for public company GCs at the largest businesses was $900,000 compared to $125,000 for their private company counterparts.

Meanwhile, legal chiefs at public companies with $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue received an average of $815,000 in long-term incentive pay compared to $33,000 for peers at private companies.

Bonus pay

General counsel at public healthcare companies also receive higher bonuses than GCs at similarly sized private companies.

The legal chiefs at public companies with more than $10 billion in revenue received an average bonus of $275,000 last year compared to $170,000 for peers at the largest private companies.

GCs at public companies with $500 million to $1 billion in revenue received an average bonus of $142,000 compared to $90,500 for their private company counterparts.

Qualifications

The credentials of general counsel, such as where they attended law school and their law firm experience, also impact the compensation they receive.

Healthcare GCs that attended a top 50 law school make 93% more at private companies and 48% more at public companies than those who attended a 100+ ranked school, the BarkerGilmore report said.

Additionally, experience at a top 50 law firm provides a 79% total compensation increase for healthcare legal chiefs.

“In this fiercely competitive landscape, companies aspiring to attract candidates from a top 50 law school with prestigious law firm experience must be prepared to offer commensurate compensation,” said Brittney McDonough, partner at BarkerGilmore, in a press release.

Other positions

The compensation trends seen for general counsel at healthcare companies extended to the managing counsel and senior counsel levels.

For example, managing counsel at public healthcare companies make an average of 49% more than their private company counterparts, according to BarkerGilmore.

Additionally, managing counsel with top 50 law firm experience make 75% more than those without law firm experience.

Meanwhile, senior counsel at public healthcare companies make 16% more than peers at private businesses. The report said the disparity was driven by the long-term incentive pay that lawyers at public companies receive.

Demographics

BarkerGilmore, a legal and compliance executive search firm, conducted an online survey in March 2023 to assess in-house counsel and compliance compensation trends for the year 2022. 

Its latest 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.