Courtesy photo

Goldman Sachs' chief legal officer was the highest-paid female legal chief in 2021 for the second consecutive year, but the person holding that distinction was a newcomer to the list.

Kathryn Ruemmler, a former White House counsel to President Barack Obama who joined New York-based Goldman Sachs as global head of regulatory affairs in 2020, took the legal reins in March 2021 following the departure of Karen Seymour.

Seymour, who was at Sullivan & Cromwell for 30 years before becoming Goldman Sachs' legal chief in 2018, returned to her law firm partnership.

Kathryn Ruemmler, chief legal officer of Goldman Sachs. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/The National Law Journal

Ruemmler received total cash compensation of $7.9 million in 2021, $1.2 million more than the $5.7 million collected by the No. 2-ranking executive, American Express' Laureen Seeger.

Ranking third was Apple's Kate Adams, at $5 million.

All three raked in more cash compensation than the $4.9 million that had put Seymour at the top of the 2020 female GC compensation list.

That was reflective of a larger trend. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 sent the economy into a sudden recession that prompted many corporate boards to temporarily cut pay.

But the virus ebbed in 2021, leaving favorable business conditions. As a result, the economy hummed, boards ratcheted up pay, and the stock market marched higher, with the S&P 500 advancing 27% for the year.

The top five female legal chiefs in 2021 collected $26.8 million in total cash comp, which averages to $5.4 million, an increase of 27% over 2020's average of $4.2 million.

The rising pay also reflects the intensely competitive market to hire and retain general counsel, said Deborah Ben-Canaan, a partner and senior practice leader of in-house counsel recruiting at Major, Lindsey & Africa Global.

But not all the compensation news for female GCs was bright.

Nine of the 20 highest-paid GCs on last year's overall list of highest-paid GCs were women, an encouraging indicator that the stubborn gender pay gap might finally be closing. But the number of women on this year's top 20 fell to five.

"I'm disappointed. We seemed to be improving last year, but now we've hit a huge drop-off," Katherine Loanzon, managing director at Kinney Recruiting in New York, said in July. "The pandemic may have been a factor as it caused a lot of female executives to have to come to terms with balancing the family versus their professional responsibilities."

She added, "But a larger conversation should be, 'How are these companies supporting women in these positions?' It just shows that corporate America still has a long way to go."