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In my experience it’s to do with experience (years in practice), business acumen (i.e., good understanding of legitimate, material business concerns, rather than issue spotting everything like firm lawyers often do), and the specific company you’re going into. In house titles are so variable and company-specific that a lot are meaningless, really. I’ve seen people go from VP of Legal making $200k at one place to Associate Counsel — technically a demotion in title — making $300k elsewhere. Idk about you, but if you pay me correctly and I like the work, I don’t really care what title is under my sig block.
I agree with this to some degree. Titles across companies aren’t worth comparing but titles within companies can definitely denote a clear hierarchy. It can impact whether you receive equity, how much bonus comp, PTO, and your level of management/responsibility within the company.
The actual title isn’t what you want to concern yourself with but the relative pay grade and position are important. Some places you may just have to get in where you fit in and work to get promoted. If there’s a niche specialty and they’re hiring and you meet all the basic qualifications and the preferred qualifications (basically you’re overqualified for the posted role) you could ask for a title bump (this isn’t likely just based on how roles are budgeted). But if you’re clearly over qualified but are a good fit it should be an easy path to promotion and I wouldn’t be afraid to talk to the hiring manager during late stage talks about how quickly you could realistically be looking at a promotion.
Chief
I have 6yoe and am a Director level attorney. My boss is a VP and he has like 25yoe.
Chief
I have someone reporting to me. But it’s a small legal department so not a big team.
My experience is if you have a specialty like myself, there is rarely advancement because companies just don’t have director or above level jobs…I’ve had to bounce to the business side to get a senior director role. Mostly, it’s longevity at the company. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people promoted to director legal jobs with no actual skill because of their tenure at the company.
Bowl Leader
Are there people at your current company with those titles? Can you be promoted internally to one of those positions or would someone need to retire or quit for there to be an opening at that level.
Frequently, if your current team is small or you’re siloed you might have to look externally for a Director or VP role. Often there’s only one VP / Head of Legal so you have to move to get that role.
Look at job boards for the type of roles you want and you’ll see what responsibilities they’re seeking in candidates.
This is very helpful. Yes there are people in my current company with those tiles but it’s almost impossible to be promoted unless someone quit or retire. I am planning to apply these type of jobs after the bonus payout.
You need to get management experience and experience implementing budgets.
I had both experiences but through different jobs
It’s who you know and the prestige factor on the resume. Work your contacts hard and apply broadly. The market is a mess.