Average Corporate Counsel Salary

Corporate counsel work with sales, marketing, and operations by offering appropriate legal and non-legal advice. These professionals are generally retained to work as a legal agent for the business entity.

Within a legal context, corporate counsel perform a variety of tasks in many areas of law. Some typical areas of law in which the corporate counsel may work are securities law, corporate and business law, intellectual property law, employment law, tax law, product and service liability, insurance law, and environmental law. In acting as legal counsel, these professionals act as an attorney, drafting and answering legal complaints, representing the business in court, and acting as an advocate during trial and appeal. Corporate counsel must also work with various the business and relevant external entities proactively to ensure compliance with the law.

In providing non-legal advice, corporate counsel must be knowledgeable in all aspects of a business; because they are involved in all of the aspects of the business, the counselor often has a global perspective of the business's activities and can often provide high-level directional advice and leadership.

Corporate counsel, like all lawyers, must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and have passed the bar for the jurisdiction in which the counselor will represent the business. (Copyright 2018 PayScale.com)

Corporate Counsel Tasks

• Conduct research on legal matters.
• Work with regulators on business and regulatory issues.
• Provide legal guidance to business and technical departments.
• Negotiate and draft commercial contracts.
• Handle complaints and compliance matters.