More than half of the 100 best-paid chief legal officers (CLOs) in the US cashed in stock options in 2005, with an average gain of $3.1 million (£1.7 million), research has revealed. Corporate Counsel magazine's annual survey of general counsel compensation found that while their average salary stayed flat at $565,000, the average cash bonus and restricted stock grant enjoyed by these CLOs approached $2 million. Benjamin Heineman, recently retired legal chief at General Electric, topped the list, with a combined salary and bonus of more than $5 million.