Last week, troubled auto company Tesla announced that a trial lawyer Dane Butswinkas will become its general counsel. It's a move that's uncommon, but not entirely unheard of.

John Gilmore, co-founder and managing partner at consulting firm BarkerGilmore, said about one in seven of the GCs his firm's placed have been litigators. More often, companies seek corporate lawyers, he said.

“But if there's a company that is dealing with some sort of regulatory issues or some sort of large class actions, the board definitely actively seeks someone with that litigation background who they know will manage the matter through the end,” Gilmore said.