General counsel in the U.S. earn the highest paychecks in the world, but gender pay gaps not only still exist but seem to be tied to companies' revenues, according to the latest Major, Lindsey & Africa survey focused on in-house compensation.

Conducted last fall before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic overtook legal departments, the survey received responses from 3,900 in-house lawyers in 36 countries.

The gender pay gaps for in-house counsel seem to appear when a company's revenue increases. Companies with less than $1 million in annual revenue, for example, have female GCs out-earning men by $388,200 to $348,889. But when companies have $1 million to $10 million in revenue, male GCs tend to earn $14,000 more.

With the coronavirus crisis, business executives, including top lawyers, have either cut or forfeited their salaries in support of their companies. Some companies have gone the opposite direction with granting more money for the work, as Corporate Counsel saw with SeaWorld Entertainment. Also when a lawyer starts or leaves a post, compensation becomes relative with the bonuses and other incentives tacked on as Corporate Counsel wrote about recently with the GCs at Discover Financial Services, Valero Energy and Sempra Energy. And pay gaps also depend on the industry.

How are you or your legal department addressing pay equity issues at your company? Please let me know at [email protected].

"Now, because we've seen such an uptick of racism and discrimination, we are encouraging folks to speak out. We're asking people to call it out when they see it. As we know this disease doesn't discriminate and we cannot allow this racism to continue."

Bonnie Lee Wolf, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and associate vice president in the litigation and employment department at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., told Corporate Counsel about the bar group's campaign to address racism and discrimination toward Asian Americans due to the COVID-19 pandemic first being reported in China.

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What's Happening

Another Broken Cog

The novel coronavirus has only strained U.S.-China business relations further. In our latest magazine article, Corporate Counsel examines how COVID-19 in China was affecting U.S. in-house counsel early on during the outbreak.

"A lot of our clients are looking to find alternative supply options in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, wherever. But it's hard trying to find a reliable new supplier," said Adams Lee of Harris Bricken in Seattle. "Everyone is hoping, planning on this going away, eventually. But I think the reality for many is that being entirely dependent on China probably wasn't the best strategy."

Essential Business

In the second installment of From the COVID-19 Bunker, Law.com speaks to Ivan Fong, 3M's GC, senior vice president and secretary.

3M ramped up its production of N95 respirators in January and doubled its global output to 1.1 billion per year, including 35 million a month in the U.S. The company already is revving up to double that capacity to 2 billion respirators globally within a year.

As his company continues essential business, Fong said he is also making sure diversity and inclusion doesn't fall to the wayside amid the crisis.

"It's reasonable to assume that given the global pandemic crisis, law firms and corporations might lose focus and not prioritize D&I as they had previously," Fong said. "But it's now more important than ever to view inclusion through the broader lens of mental health and well-being. I'm concerned that profession will see increased levels of mental health issues long term if people feel excluded."

Don't Forget About Diversity & Inclusion

Speaking of diversity and inclusion, Joel Stern, the CEO of the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms, told Corporate Counsel he hopes the organization's goal of connecting legal departments to inclusion-driven law firms remains strong as lawyers deal with the impact of the coronavirus.

In previous crises, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession took a step back.

"I do not remember when the Great Recession occurred anybody talking about diversity and inclusion and the need to keep this a focus of attention," Stern said.

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Best Legal Departments

Corporate Counsel's Best Legal Departments awards deadline for submissions is June 15.

We are looking for general counsel and in-house legal department applicants in the following categories:

U.S. Legal Department of the Year

Compliance Department of the Year

Startup Solo GC of the Year

Best Use of Technology

General Counsel of the Year

Best Deputy or Associate GC

Champion of Diversity Award

Best Legal Ops Team

Outstanding Community Service Award

If your general counsel and legal department qualify for a Best Legal Departments award, then please apply here.

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Earth Day

April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Take a look at our recent stories about in-house counsel working on their corporate environmental policies.

Jeff Bleich, a former California State Bar president and U.S. ambassador to Australia during the Obama administration, was named the chief legal officer of Cruise, the self-driving vehicle startup associated with General Motors. Also a former Munger, Tolles & Olson and Dentons partner, he will be based in San Francisco.

The Hershey Co. general counsel Damien Atkins will become the next chair of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's board of directors. He will begin his role in April 2021 and serve until March 2023.

Andrew Maunz was named legal counsel for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Maunz, who was the EEOC chair Janet Dhillon's adviser and special assistant, replaces Ketan Bhirud, now deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security.