General Counsel Job Description

'The General Counsel of a company is the head of that company’s in-house legal department and the most important lawyer on the staff. The General Counsel of a company is often considered an executive position within the company, similar to a senior vice president. The term General Counsel does not refer to a legal position within a law firm, but rather describes the most important lawyer within the legal department of a company or nonprofit organization.

Here are a few sample general counsel job descriptions:

General Counsel

The candidate must have 10+ years of corporate and IP law experience, including litigation and licensing experience. Should have an Electrical Engineering, Physics or Computer Science background.

The candidate will draft and negotiate customer contracts and advise on all types of substantive commercial matters, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance. Should have Master's degree (JD degree from an accredited top-tier law school). Must be a member in good standing of a State Bar. Must have 7+ years or more legal experience with 4+ years of law firm experience. Knowledge of: Corporate and commercial law (advanced level); Understanding legal issues and assessing and managing business and legal risks (advanced level); Counseling senior management and a track record of providing value added business advice in additional to legal advice (advanced level); Commercial litigation and other dispute resolution matters (advanced level); All aspects of merger and acquisition transactions including due diligence, contract drafting and negotiation and integration issues (advanced level) and regulatory and compliance issues (advanced level) is required.

Assistant General Counsel


Associate General Counsel

The candidate must have 8+ years of experience , including experience with conflicts of interest, client intake, attorney-client relationships and claims. Will handle a variety of legal matters for the firm. The ideal candidate will have some knowledge of patent and trademark law.

The candidate will be responsible for overseeing all of the corporation's patent litigation and civil litigation across the globe. Should have a technical degree and experience managing other attorneys.


The candidate should have clinical trials or marketing experience.'

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