Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 21


"One common myth is that in-house work is so
cushy compared to a law firm. As a chief legal
officer, I'm basically available and working
around the clock. With a global operation, you
have to be prepared for whatever happens. With
a law firm, your hours can be more predictable."
- Jim Winner, Aegis World
compensated GC, with a base salary of $1.5 million.
The average salary for the top 100 GCs was more than
$700,000 in 2015, according to the survey.
Lower-level in-house lawyers, on average, are
compensated far less, according to Robert Half Legal's
2017 salary report. For small to large-size companies,
the salary range was $137,500 to $269,500 for lawyers
with more than 10 years of experience, $111,500 to
$224,750 for lawyers with four to nine years of
practice, and $87,000 to $166,750 for lawyers with less
than three years of experience. These ranges
represent a 3.3 percent increase over 2016 rates.
"Working in house, you're not going to be making a
million and getting equity all the time, but you're
going to be fine," says Merklinger. "Nobody is
complaining that they can't make their car payment."

James
Merklinger

DEBUNKING THE MYTHS
Recruiters say their biggest challenge in marketing
in-house positions is the misperceptions that exist
about the in-house role and workload. Too often,
corporate positions are viewed as a place to coast.
The truth is a far cry from the perception, say in-house
attorneys.
"One common myth is that in-house work is so cushy
compared to a law firm," says Winner. "As a chief legal
officer, I'm basically available and working around the
clock. With a global operation, you have to be

Photo courtesy of Association of Corporate Counsel

prepared for whatever happens. With a law firm, your
hours can be more predictable."
And what happens when attorneys want to return to
the law firm fold? There is some debate about the
difficulty of jumping back to law firms after an
extended period in house. In-house lawyers concede
that their traditional skills may be rusty and need
some buffing. Some suggest that much depends on
the law firm and the position an attorney might be
seeking. There are too many factors to know for sure.
"It can be very difficult to go back into a law firm from
an in-house position," says Savage. "You're focusing
more on the business side. It's a different skill set than
in a law firm. Plus, law firms might question your
commitment to the firm if you've already stepped out
of law firm life."
For in-house lawyers at the GC level, the switch back
to law firms is easier, says Savage. Armed with great
titles and a wealth of business experience, they are
frequently welcomed back into firms to serve as
managing partners and other key leaders.
A shift in legal strategy and spending at corporations
does not presage the demise of outside counsel.
There is a serious need for outside services in complex
litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and fractious
government investigations. For legal matters like
these, the return on investment for hiring and
maintaining a corps of specialists on staff is poor, and
it makes better business sense to retain outside
counsel.
"One of the benefits of utilizing outside counsel is
their currency and depth in specialized fields of law,"
says Winner. "When you're in house, you don't have a
great opportunity to remain up to date and sharp on
particular legal subject matters. You know that law
firms are focused on maintaining each of their areas of
practice, and they'll do training and other professional
development activities to ensure that they are
constantly updating and deepening their knowledge
in each area or specialty."

German
Need help with
evidence that is
auf Deutsch?
For bilingual,
big-case discovery
and litigation
support, contact us:

WKWilburn P.C.
www.wkwilburn.com
wkw@wkwilburn.com
(301) 652-9700

Sarah Kellogg is a regular contributor to
Washington Lawyer.
* WASHINGTON LAWYER * JANUARY 2017

21


http://www.wkwilburn.com http://www.dcbar.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - January 2017

Washington Lawyer - January 2017
Contents
Your Voice
From Our President
Our Membership
Career & Professional Development
Practice Management
Calendar of Events
Government & Gavel
Feature: An Inside Job
Feature: Investment Planning for Lawyers
Feature: Making the Virtual Leap
Feature: Lawyers Have Heart
Member Spotlight
Global & Domestic Outlook
Worth Reading
Media Bytes
Partners' Perspective
Ask the Ethics Experts
Attorney Briefs
Pro Bono Effect
Community & Connections
Last Word
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Washington Lawyer - January 2017
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 1
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Contents
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 3
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 4
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Your Voice
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 7
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Our Membership
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 9
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Career & Professional Development
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 11
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 13
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Calendar of Events
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 15
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Government & Gavel
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 17
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Feature: An Inside Job
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 19
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 20
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 21
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Feature: Investment Planning for Lawyers
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 23
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 24
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 25
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Feature: Making the Virtual Leap
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 27
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 28
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 29
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Feature: Lawyers Have Heart
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 31
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 32
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 33
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Member Spotlight
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 35
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Global & Domestic Outlook
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 37
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Media Bytes
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Partners' Perspective
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 41
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Ask the Ethics Experts
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 45
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Community & Connections
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 47
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Last Word
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - Cover4
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/marchapril2024
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2024
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/januaryfebruary2022
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2021
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2021
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2021
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/marchapril2021
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/marchapril2021
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/novemberdecember2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/septemberoctober2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/june2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/may2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/march2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/january2020
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/november2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/october2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/september2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/june2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/may2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/april2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/march2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/january2019
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/november2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/november2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/november2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/august2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/august2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/June/July2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/april2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/March2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/February2018
https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/january2018
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/december2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/November2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/september 2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/september 2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/august2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/july2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/June2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/may2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/april2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/march2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/february2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/january2017
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/december2016
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/november2016/
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/october2016
http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/september2016
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com