India Inc is rushing to hire general counsels (GC) or chief legal officers to handle increasing compliance burden, rising ligation and also frequent financial transactions.
As a result, the salaries offered to GCs by companies have touched an all-time high, say experts.
Large companies are willing to pay anywhere between ₹4 crore and ₹6 crore to their in-house legal experts. This is on a par with what some top law firms offer their partners, say experts.
And in many cases, the companies have also been poaching these star performers from Indian law firms. Industry watchers say that established GCs are getting the best offers of their careers.
"In current times, all large companies are subject to regulatory regimes and various risks. Hence, as an overall part of GRC (governance, risk and compliance), the role of general counsel (GC) has assumed significance," said Rajiv Choubey, group general counsel at Dalmia Bharat Group. "GCs are today's partners of business as they help take a decision after assessing the risks associated with the business."
Choubey joined Dalmia Bharat Group to head its legal and compliance department a few weeks ago from ACC.
All the large companies in the last one or two years have either created a specific position or added more power to the existing positions.
"Legal departments have transitioned from being a support function to having a seat at the table. With the increasingly complex activities that companies see, whether it is M&A, or innovations, new businesses or products, it is important to have a general counsel who can lend her voice from a legal perspective at the very outset," said Ami Parikh, general counsel at Asian Paints.
Parikh worked with Experian India prior to joining Asian Paints last year in September to head its legal and compliance functions.
As a result, the salaries offered to GCs by companies have touched an all-time high, say experts.
Large companies are willing to pay anywhere between ₹4 crore and ₹6 crore to their in-house legal experts. This is on a par with what some top law firms offer their partners, say experts.
And in many cases, the companies have also been poaching these star performers from Indian law firms. Industry watchers say that established GCs are getting the best offers of their careers.
"In current times, all large companies are subject to regulatory regimes and various risks. Hence, as an overall part of GRC (governance, risk and compliance), the role of general counsel (GC) has assumed significance," said Rajiv Choubey, group general counsel at Dalmia Bharat Group. "GCs are today's partners of business as they help take a decision after assessing the risks associated with the business."
Choubey joined Dalmia Bharat Group to head its legal and compliance department a few weeks ago from ACC.
All the large companies in the last one or two years have either created a specific position or added more power to the existing positions.
"Legal departments have transitioned from being a support function to having a seat at the table. With the increasingly complex activities that companies see, whether it is M&A, or innovations, new businesses or products, it is important to have a general counsel who can lend her voice from a legal perspective at the very outset," said Ami Parikh, general counsel at Asian Paints.
Parikh worked with Experian India prior to joining Asian Paints last year in September to head its legal and compliance functions.
( Originally published on Sep 14, 2022 )
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