Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Entertainment Industry Average GC Cash Salary Dominates Top Tier
In 2016, according to ALM Legal Intelligence's list of the top 100 highest paid general counsel at major corporations, two of the top five hail from the entertainment industry.'The survey, which appears each year in the August issue of ALM's Corporate Counsel, ranks general counsel by total cash salary (defined as salary plus bonuses and non-equity incentive compensation) and includes other compensation metrics such as stock and option awards. This continues a trend over the last four years whereby entertainment industry general counsel have found themselves at or near the top of the list when examined by multiple measures.
From 2013 to 2016, entertainment industry general counsel have accounted for the most appearances on the top 100 list, though they are trailed closely by GCs from the pharmaceutical industry which, in turn, are followed by law department leaders in the insurance, aerospace and defense, and securities industries. See, Figure 1, below.
[IMGCAP(1)]
The entertainment industry's dominance becomes clearer when examining the data from other angles. It's not just that entertainment industry GCs have the most appearances in the top 100 in recent years. It's also demonstrated by where they fall in the rankings when they do appear.
When the top 100 rankings are divided into four tiers (i.e., Tier 1-25, Tier 26-50, Tier 51-75 and Tier 76-100), and within each tier are displayed the top five industries by count of GC appearances from 2013 to 2016, entertainment industry GCs have appeared in the first tier, Tier 1-25, on 22 occasions, accounting for 85% of the industry's appearances on the top 100 survey.
The enormous implications of the entertainment industry's concentration in the top tier of the rankings can be seen in Figure 3 below. From 2013 to 2016, the average total cash compensation of a general counsel in the first tier of the rankings, averaging approximately $1.5 million more than tier two, far outpaced the other three tiers.
[IMGCAP(2)]
The entertainment industry's position at the top is reinforced further when analyzing average general counsel total cash compensation on an industry-by-industry basis. From 2013 to 2016, average total cash compensation of entertainment industry general counsel ranks first at approximately $4 million, with diversified financials, commercial banks, pipelines, and construction and farm machinery rounding out the top five.
When compared with their corporate counsel brothers and sisters, it's a great time to be a general counsel in the entertainment industry, but does this story have a Hollywood ending when compared to outside counsel? Caveats abound when making this comparison, such as that the total cash compensation referenced above does not include other forms of compensation like stock and option awards. Also, the entertainment industry compensation doesn't quite match the law firm profits per equity partner (PPP) of $6,600,000 reported by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the top law firm by PPP in the recently released Am Law 200, a survey of law firm financials conducted by ALM Legal Intelligence/The American Lawyer. Nevertheless, entertainment GC compensation is firmly in line with the PPP of the remainder of the top five firms in the law firm financial data, which report PPP between approximately $3.5 million and $4.4 million.
Maybe the entertainment industry general counsel do get to walk off into the sunset?
Steve Kovalan is Senior Analyst for ALM Legal Intelligence, an ALM sibling service of Entertainment Law & Finance.
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
How Secure Is the AI System Your Law Firm Is Using?
In a profession where confidentiality is paramount, failing to address AI security concerns could have disastrous consequences. It is vital that law firms and those in related industries ask the right questions about AI security to protect their clients and their reputation.
COVID-19 and Lease Negotiations: Early Termination Provisions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some tenants were able to negotiate termination agreements with their landlords. But even though a landlord may agree to terminate a lease to regain control of a defaulting tenant's space without costly and lengthy litigation, typically a defaulting tenant that otherwise has no contractual right to terminate its lease will be in a much weaker bargaining position with respect to the conditions for termination.
Pleading Importation: ITC Decisions Highlight Need for Adequate Evidentiary Support
The International Trade Commission is empowered to block the importation into the United States of products that infringe U.S. intellectual property rights, In the past, the ITC generally instituted investigations without questioning the importation allegations in the complaint, however in several recent cases, the ITC declined to institute an investigation as to certain proposed respondents due to inadequate pleading of importation.
The Power of Your Inner Circle: Turning Friends and Social Contacts Into Business Allies
Practical strategies to explore doing business with friends and social contacts in a way that respects relationships and maximizes opportunities.
Authentic Communications Today Increase Success for Value-Driven Clients
As the relationship between in-house and outside counsel continues to evolve, lawyers must continue to foster a client-first mindset, offer business-focused solutions, and embrace technology that helps deliver work faster and more efficiently.