Corporate Attorney Salary

The average salary for a Corporate Attorney is $99,149.

10%

50%

90%

MEDIAN $99,149

Salary

$66k - $174k

Bonus

$1k - $46k

Profit Sharing

$493 - $98k

Total Pay

$66k - $201k

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Job Description for Corporate Attorney

Corporate lawyers can serve as advisers to business executives, or they may represent a corporation in court. They draft business contracts and amendments. They are involved in various matters, such as company’s mergers, employee benefits, and corporate compliance. They also handle human resources issues and represent their companies when they are sued by employees. They work on behalf of their employers in matters pertaining to patent infringement and customers’ lawsuits. They negotiate and …Read more

Corporate Attorney Tasks

Advise clients in business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits or legal rights and obligations.
Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial.
Analyze and interpret laws, rulings, and regulations with probable case outcomes for individuals and businesses.
Represent clients in court or before government agencies, present and summarize cases to judges and juries.
Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions; evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments for presentation of cases.

Career Paths

Explore the most common career paths for Corporate Attorney. Thickness and color of lines indicates popularity of movement from one job to the next. Visit our career path planner to research other job paths.

Corporate Attorney

Associate General Counsel

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Corporate Counsel

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Corporate Lawyer

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More common (> 20%)

Somewhat common (8 - 20%)

Less common (< 8%)

Corporate Attorney Job Listings

Popular Skills for Corporate Attorney

Contract Negotiation

$98,123

196 responses

Legal Compliance

$96,773

150 responses

Legal Document Review

$96,075

143 responses

Corporate Governance

$102,948

28 responses

Intellectual Property (IP)

$90,000

19 responses

Skills in Corporate Governance are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Intellectual Property (IP), Legal Document Review, Legal Compliance and Contract Negotiation.

Pay by Experience Level for Corporate Attorney

An entry-level Corporate Attorney with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $83,040 based on 20 salaries. An early career Corporate Attorney with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $89,640 based on 166 salaries. A mid-career Corporate Attorney with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $106,960 based on 108 salaries. An experienced Corporate Attorney with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $141,203 based on 71 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $166,243.

Pay Difference by Location

Learn more about cost of living by city.

San Francisco, California

▲52%

▲34%

▲28%

▲10%

▲1%

Boston, Massachusetts

▼9%

Columbus, Ohio

▼19%

Employees with Corporate Attorney in their job title in San Francisco, California earn an average of 51.5% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in Chicago, Illinois (34.1% more) and New York, New York (27.8% more). The lowest salaries can be found in Columbus, Ohio (19.3% less) and Boston, Massachusetts (9.2% less).