Sofia Lind reports on a new book which aims to help female lawyers realise their in-house career ambitions

When Mary Ann Hynes became general counsel of tax and business law publisher CCH in 1979 she was the first woman ever to reach the top legal position in a Fortune 500 company. Since then, the number of female GCs has increased significantly but, with 101 women now holding the title across the largest US corporates, 80% of Fortune 500 GC roles are still held by men.

It's a disparity that has prompted SNR Denton's US-based global head of insurance Kara Baysinger and Allstate Insurance GC Michele Coleman Mayes (pictured, main) to try to find out how women can crack gender bias and advance their careers in-house. They interviewed 50 female GCs at Fortune 500 companies as well as legal recruiters and other industry experts to produce Courageous Counsel – a book that aims to tell women what they need to demonstrate in order to become a leading GC in addition to simply strong technical legal skills.