The UK's best-paid general counsel now receive more than £1 million in pay and benefits a year - bringing them closer to their US counterparts and senior partners at top City law firms, research has revealed.

A survey of 102 general counsel commissioned by The CLO Programme, a management development scheme for general counsel and heads of legal, revealed basic salaries ranging from £47,500 to £975,000. The average basic salary is £136,820.


It also highlighted huge differences in total remuneration - covering bonuses and pensions as well as salaries - with packages between £55,000 and £1,019,000. The average bonus this year was £46,570, although one general counsel received £350,000.


The research also demonstrated that general counsel with a seat on the board of their employer are paid better than those who are not directors, earning on average 12% more with a total package of £218,090 compared to £194,820.


City: salary gap is closing
Male general counsel are also paid more than female general counsel, with average total remuneration of £203,540 as against £191,620.


General counsel in the financial, chemicals and food, drink and tobacco sectors are the highest paid, with the lowest remuneration existing in the public sector, the survey said.


Janine Collins, programme director for The CLO Programme, said: 'Fifteen years ago, a general counsel's income would have been considerably less than that of a senior partner at a top City firm.


'The survey shows that working in-house is now much more of a viable alternative to private practice. The in-house profession has arrived in terms of pay and other benefits.'


By comparison, a survey of chief legal officers in the US by management consultancy Altman Weil - published last month - revealed an average basic salary of $275,000 (£150,000). US general counsel also fare slightly better when it comes to bonuses with an average of $120,000 (£66,000).


According to The CLO Programme's survey, standard benefits enjoyed by 80% or more UK general counsel include a private health scheme, a mobile phone, a company car, health insurance and life assurance. Share options are also enjoyed by 62% of respondents.


The poll also looked at remuneration of junior in-house lawyers. The average total remuneration of lawyers with less than six years of post-qualification experience (PQE) was £57,370, while those with between six and nine years' PQE took home £72,280.