The $400,000 Question: Does Your Company Really Need a Full-Time General Counsel?
According to the Association of Corporate Counsel's 2025 compensation survey, median annual cash compensation for a General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer is approximately $410,000. That's before benefits, payroll taxes, and other employment costs.
For many growing businesses, that's a substantial investment.
But here's the more important question:
Does your company need a full-time general counsel, or does it need access to the experience and judgment of one?
Those aren't necessarily the same thing.
Today's businesses face increasingly complex commercial agreements, technology and licensing arrangements, data privacy and AI challenges, corporate governance issues, and strategic transactions.
They need sophisticated legal advice. But they may not need 40 hours of it every week.
Before becoming an attorney, I spent seven years in business development. That experience fundamentally shaped how I practice law.
A contract isn't simply a collection of legal provisions. It's a commercial relationship. A negotiation isn't about winning every point. It's about getting the deal done while protecting the business.
Over the years, I've advised companies on complex transactions, strategic partnerships, technology, data, and corporate matters.
And I've learned that the most valuable legal advice often isn't explaining what the law permits. It's understanding what the business is trying to accomplish and finding a practical way to get there.
That's where the outside general counsel model makes sense.
Companies can access experienced, business-minded legal counsel without the fixed costs of a full-time executive.
More importantly, they gain an ongoing strategic partner who understands their business, anticipates problems, and helps management make better decisions.
For some companies, hiring a full-time general counsel is absolutely the right investment.
For others, particularly growing and middle-market businesses, there's a more efficient way.
The goal isn't to spend less on legal advice. It's to get the right experience, at the right time, at a cost that makes sense.
Because the value of a general counsel isn't measured by hours spent in the office.
It's measured by the decisions they help a business make.
-Matthew P Murphy