Legal executive search firm Kerwin Associates has released its latest insights report, Navigating Compensation Negotiations, revealing how in-house legal professionals across the U.S. are negotiating their pay, equity, and advancement, revealing where systemic challenges still persist.
Based on insights from over 300 in-house legal professionals, the report highlights a key shift: compensation conversations have moved from backroom discussions to boardroom strategy.
Among the findings, the report shows:
• 96% of legal professionals have negotiated compensation at some point in their career
• 54% of respondents negotiated pay in 2024 or 2025
• Only 4% have never negotiated compensation
• Equity negotiations remain uneven:
- Equity is over 50% more likely to be negotiated during external transitions than internal ones
- Just 27% of respondents negotiated on title or level, despite its strong correlation with compensation
- Mid-level professionals rarely negotiate equity and often report not understanding its value
• Confidence vs. information gap:
- Legal professionals rate their likelihood to negotiate at 7.8/10
- But they rate their confidence in having enough information at just 6.7/10
- Only 29% of professionals spoke with a mentor or peer when evaluating equity value, and 44% relied on company-provided information alone
• Cash remains the priority:
- 91% of professionals negotiated base salary
- Executives show a stronger preference for equity during job transitions (mean score 5.9/10) but lean neutral in current roles (mean 5.0/10)
- Mid-level counsel strongly prefer cash compensation both in current roles (mean 3.3/10) and new opportunities (mean 4.1/10)
“We’re seeing a growing disconnect between legal professionals’ willingness to negotiate and their access to the information needed to do so effectively,” said Anne Kerwin Payne, founder and managing partner at Kerwin. “This report shines a light on the equity knowledge gap, the limits of internal transparency, and what both candidates and companies can do to bridge them.”
The report offers practical recommendations for legal professionals, from evaluating equity value to structuring more assertive negotiation asks. For employers, it urges a more transparent and proactive approach to internal compensation, treating retention discussions with the same rigor as recruitment.
Kerwin Associates produced the report to help legal departments and professionals navigate today’s evolving compensation landscape with clarity and confidence. The full report is available at www.kerwin.com.
Based on insights from over 300 in-house legal professionals, the report highlights a key shift: compensation conversations have moved from backroom discussions to boardroom strategy.
Among the findings, the report shows:
• 96% of legal professionals have negotiated compensation at some point in their career
• 54% of respondents negotiated pay in 2024 or 2025
• Only 4% have never negotiated compensation
• Equity negotiations remain uneven:
- Equity is over 50% more likely to be negotiated during external transitions than internal ones
- Just 27% of respondents negotiated on title or level, despite its strong correlation with compensation
- Mid-level professionals rarely negotiate equity and often report not understanding its value
• Confidence vs. information gap:
- Legal professionals rate their likelihood to negotiate at 7.8/10
- But they rate their confidence in having enough information at just 6.7/10
- Only 29% of professionals spoke with a mentor or peer when evaluating equity value, and 44% relied on company-provided information alone
• Cash remains the priority:
- 91% of professionals negotiated base salary
- Executives show a stronger preference for equity during job transitions (mean score 5.9/10) but lean neutral in current roles (mean 5.0/10)
- Mid-level counsel strongly prefer cash compensation both in current roles (mean 3.3/10) and new opportunities (mean 4.1/10)
“We’re seeing a growing disconnect between legal professionals’ willingness to negotiate and their access to the information needed to do so effectively,” said Anne Kerwin Payne, founder and managing partner at Kerwin. “This report shines a light on the equity knowledge gap, the limits of internal transparency, and what both candidates and companies can do to bridge them.”
The report offers practical recommendations for legal professionals, from evaluating equity value to structuring more assertive negotiation asks. For employers, it urges a more transparent and proactive approach to internal compensation, treating retention discussions with the same rigor as recruitment.
Kerwin Associates produced the report to help legal departments and professionals navigate today’s evolving compensation landscape with clarity and confidence. The full report is available at www.kerwin.com.
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