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Any book recommendations for GC of a startup?
Ares or Oaktree?
Any in-house counsel in here willing to post their company, level or YOE, and total comp breakdown? If you’re comfortable, please consider posting both your current stats and what your stats were when you first moved in-house. If there’s any other information that you want to share, please include that too (e.g., hours, interesting perks, etc.). Info on in-house salaries is pretty hard to come by, and it would be great to compile some data points here! Facebook Amazon Google Netflix Apple
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Seems low but if you’re laid off you gotta take it I assume.
True. I’m in the running for Senior Counsel type positions that are close to the low end of the range. So 1 thought is that, would those be less stressful/work? Would be good though to get back to GC level though in my title.
Check Edgar of recent small cap ipos, agree that seems low but also not exploitatively so
https://www.thelawyerwhisperer.com/question/2022-in-house-legal-compensation-trends-a-few-numbers/
Those numbers are inflated. How do I know? Talk to the same firm about their own searches and realize it's on the low end of the blog.
Pro
Base is a bit low. Bonus is very low; C-suite bonus is usually 40%+. Could all be made up with the equity. If you are coming in to prep the company for an exit, you should expect seven-figure equity, and higher depending on the timeline (1 year vs 2.5)
Base doesn’t seem crazy. Bonus could be higher. But for a job like this, the risk and reward is in the equity. Your equity should be substantial, especially if the expectation is that you’ll be spearheading the liquidity event from the legal POV.
Major, Lindsey & Africa just published reports of GC comp- on their website. Also, Depends on market and industry, but your numbers seem average for Midwest based company on recent discussions with peers.
So you’re getting a potential 100k bump? I don’t see anything off except for bonus potential. What else seems off to you if you’re getting equity?
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Ty!!!
Not sure where the company is located but I work for a tech start up in the Bay Area. About 250 employees. 2 lawyers and 2 paralegal reports. 347k base, 10% bonus. Sign on bonus of $70k. Plus equity. In order to determine how much equity you should ask, for you would need to understand the cap table- see how many shares are outstanding and what is the FMV of your options (most start up tech companies will give you equity in the form of options). In addition to your bonus, you need to inquire about the opportunity and amount of option refreshes. As you get closer to a liquidity event, options may be worth more than a 10% cash bonus on your base.
Note that consulting will be lower equity wise than a typical tech company. So will be apples to oranges.
Thx, all! Adding to say I am in Boulder area. I will report back w/ more details if I get off. Ty!!!
Does one ever ask for an employment agreement in this case, such that if I am let go or leave, I get severance?
Yes, if you are terminated. Not if you leave though. Imagine negotiating that provision. "Would you mind including something in here that you pay ME if I decide I found something better? Thx!!"
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Okay, I got the offer, but I feel like I had to extract it out of them. Had to arrange for one of the reference calls. Never have had an offer help up for reference checks before. I feel like the person I would be reporting to is hesitant, talks a lot, is all over the place. It’s a great offer. Why am I feeling weird about it?
Don't 2nd guess it too much. This is a solid offer in CO esp if you can get to 285/300k.