ALM Releases 2021 Law Department Compensation Benchmarking (LDCB) Survey Results

ALM Intelligence’s LDCB report is the most comprehensive analytical resource for reviewing and setting law department compensation.

New York, NY – December 20, 2021 – ALM Intelligence has released the results of its annual Law Department Compensation Benchmarking (LDCB) Survey. The 2021 edition of the report reveals how America’s top corporations compensate their in-house legal staff by giving insights into compensation packages—including salary, bonus, and total cash and stock options—across nine positions and numerous regions, department sizes, and industries. 

“The annual Law Department Compensation Benchmarking Survey provides law departments with relevant data and a meaningful benchmark to evaluate the equity and competitiveness of their department’s compensation structure,” said Michelle Matroni, Sr. Research Manager and Legal Rankings Lead, ALM Intelligence.

Highlights from this year’s report include:

• Chief Legal Officers, on average, receive a total compensation of just over $1 million annually
• Staff Attorneys earn an average base salary of $119,000 at companies with annual sales revenue below $1 billion
• Average base salary for Managing Attorneys is highest in the Northeast and lowest in the West
• Operations Managers receive an average base salary of $97,000

“This is critical intelligence for legal departments, law firms and recruiters,” said Patrick Fuller, Vice President of ALM Intelligence. “The compensation gap between large law firms and their in-house counterparts continues to expand, and understanding where those gaps exist is essential to winning the war for talent.”

This year’s survey was conducted from May to October 2021 and the resulting report includes data on over 1,100 in-house lawyers and operations professionals across 29 organizations.

To purchase the report, visit: 2021 Law Department Compensation Benchmarking (LDCB) Survey

About ALM Intelligence

ALM Intelligence provides proprietary data, analysis, tools, and knowledge that empower our clients to succeed. The product suite and vast data repository arm professionals with the critical business information required to make the most impactful and informed decisions possible. The exhaustive data repository and product functionality enable professionals to combat competitive challenges head-on with the confidence to remain ahead of the field. The depth of ALM Intelligence’s expertise across the benefits, insurance, consulting, and legal industries provide a broad spectrum of actionable intelligence to facilitate and execute strategy. Visit www.alm.com/intelligence/ for more information.

About ALM

ALM, an information and intelligence company, provides customers with critical news, data, analysis, marketing solutions, and events to successfully manage the business of law. ALM serves a community of over 6 million business professionals seeking to discover, connect, and compete in highly complex industries. Please visit www.alm.com for more information, and visit www.alm.com/events/ to learn about our upcoming events. Please follow us on Twitter at @ALMMedia.