Salary growth for in-house counsel is expected to be more measured in 2027, with the biggest increases going to those in critical roles and hard-to-staff openings, according to a new report. Candidates with special skills, such as artificial intelligence expertise, are expected to score the highest salaries.  

The annual salary guide, released by legal recruiter and business consulting firm Robert Half on Tuesday, projects starting salaries for chief legal officers and general counsel as well as for in-house counsel at several different experience levels from zero to over 10 years.

While intellectual property and litigation continue to be valued skills, the report shows that experience with artificial intelligence is highly prized now.

Over 60% of in-house employers are offering higher pay for relevant AI skills, with 42% offering more for AI-related expertise than for other tech skills, the guide shows.

While projected starting salary growth has moderated, according to Robert Half, strong compensation packages are essential to attract top talent.

The starting pay for a chief legal officer in the guide ranges from $241,750 for a beginner to $293,750 for a seasoned leader.

The salary guide also projects a starting salary as low as $98,750 for a beginning in-house counsel, and as much as $226,000 for a senior lawyer or associate general counsel with over 10 years of experience. In general, salaries for jobs based in larger cities will be higher, the report says.

Robert Half projects legal salaries to rise 2.2% on average for 2027, with in-house counsel at four to nine years of experience rising faster at 3.4%.

Jamy Sullivan, a lawyer who is executive director for the Robert Half legal practice, said the finding that stood out most to her relates to 65% of in-house legal departments employers offering higher-than-planned salaries for new hires.

"That tells us employers are not simply raising pay across the board," Sullivan told Law360 Pulse. "They are making targeted investments when a candidate brings the specialized legal knowledge, relevant experience and ability to contribute quickly that the organization needs." She said it is also consistent with most legal employers "saying job offers are more competitive than they were three years ago."

Another interested finding cited by Sullivan, who also could view law firm data, was the difference between law firms and legal departments on salary offerings. She said 86% of law firms are offering higher-than-planned salaries, a 21-point difference from legal departments at 65%.

"That is a strong signal of how intensely firms are competing for professionals with the right practice area and industry experience," Sullivan said.

She said because starting salaries vary by role, specialization, location and experience level, the guide provides current benchmarks to help legal chiefs make better informed compensation decisions.

"The data reinforces that pay transparency is a workforce strategy, not simply a recruiting practice," she added. "Among legal departments, 64% say transparency improves retention, 54% say it attracts a higher-quality candidate pool, 53% say it strengthens salary negotiations and 37% say it reduces time-to-hire."

She suggests that general counsel take a targeted, market-informed approach to compensation.

Before beginning a search," she advised, "identify which roles and capabilities are most important to the business, benchmark the position by market and determine where there is flexibility to strengthen an offer."

Robert Half has produced the guide since 1950. The salary benchmarks are derived from a multistep process based on actual compensation for professionals that company has placed nationwide, along with third-party job posting data from Textkernel.

The company has published legal salary data along with a city-by-city calculator on its website. The figures do not include bonus or stock awards.

--Editing by Bruce Goldman.

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