High Stress, Greater Reward For Public Health Care General Counsel

According to BarkerGilmore’s 2023 Healthcare and Life Sciences In-House and Compliance Compensation Report, general counsel at public healthcare companies make twice as much as their private company counterparts at every revenue stage due to the long-term incentives they receive.

Trends revealed by the report include:

• Median total compensation at private healthcare companies is $325,000, compared to $400,000 at public companies
• Total compensation at private life sciences companies is $431,000 versus $478,000 at public companies;
• Credentials such as law school rank and law firm experience have a big impact on total compensation across all positions regardless of company type, or company revenue
• Life sciences compensates more than the healthcare industry. General Counsel at life sciences companies are a little more likely to report to the CEO than healthcare GCs. They are also more likely to serve as CCO and Corporate Secretary
• The booby prize for healthcare General Counsel? They are more likely to be responsible for government affairs.