Legal Counsel

What it officially is

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.

O*NET, US Department of Labor · classified as “Lawyers”

What the work involves

  • Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Negotiate contractual agreements. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law. 72% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Represent clients in court or before government agencies. 71% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit. 71% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Negotiate settlements of civil disputes. 71% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Supervise legal assistants. 71% of people in this occupation report doing this

What employers actually ask for

Counted from listings on this board. Each line shows how many of that tier's listings for this role carried it — the denominator is the point.

Large employers

  • experience working on in-house legal team and/or law firm 2 of 6
  • experience in compliance, data privacy, or product development 2 of 6
  • understanding of the open source software community and values 2 of 6
  • working with local counsel in many countries to seek and implement advice 2 of 6
  • excellent project management skills and ability to work under tight deadlines 2 of 6
  • leadership and the ability to influence others to embrace new ideas or practices 2 of 6
  • understanding of the technology industry - silicon, data centers, pcs, connected devices, and software 2 of 6
  • a passion for technology and ability to understand complex business models and product use cases quickly 2 of 6

Only one tier has enough listings for this role to count from. A share measured over fewer than three listings is not a measurement, so it is not shown.

What they call it

Large employers

  • Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy Canonical
  • Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy Canonical Ltd.
  • Commercial Legal Counsel GitLab
  • Senior Commercial Counsel, APJ GitLab
  • Product Counsel (Crypto/Bridge) Stripe
  • Product Counsel, Payments & Terminal Stripe

Startups

  • Head of Legal & Compliance Chariot
  • Startup Counsel Dover

Tools the occupation uses

Accounting software BQE Software BillQuick
Analytical or scientific software Convex FactLogic
Calendar and scheduling software CompuLaw Vision, Compugov DocketView
Data base user interface and query software AdvantageLaw WinVantage, Argosy Legal Systems Power Closer, Abacus Data Systems AbacusLaw, ADC Legal Systems Perfect Practice, ADERANT Expert Matter Center, Advanced Technologies Class Act
Document management software AbacusNext HotDocs, Anacomp CaseLogistix, Best Case Solutions Best Case Bankruptcy, Adobe Acrobat, Captaris Alchemy

How well this role is advertised

121listings reviewed
59/100median HR-standards score
77/100median title accuracy

Open now

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Official definitions and responsibilities come from public occupational records — O*NET (US Department of Labor) and ESCO (European Commission). The employer half is counted from listings on this board and shown with its denominator. Nothing on this page is written by a language model: the measured half is arithmetic over real postings, and the official half is quoted.