Our list of the nation’s best-paid general counsel features a lot of perennial names. But this year, we have a surprise addition, coming in at a lofty No. 5: John Finley, chief legal officer of New York-based Blackstone Group. Welcome, Mr. Finley, to this, the 2014 edition of our signature GC Compensation Survey.
Finley’s banner compensation year came together largely because of his bonus, the highest in the survey at $4,212,555. In Blackstone’s public filings, Finley received this turbocharged boost in part because he performed well in his traditional role as the head of legal. But the proxy filings (from which we get our data) also credited him for “positioning the firm to be compliant with the regulatory bodies,” as well as the more fuzzy “role in strategic initiatives.”
