To earn more, general counsel need to supervise larger legal departments, according to a 2007 survey by Altman Weil. For general counsel in one-lawyer departments, the median cash compensation was $200,000, according to Law.com. The survey shows median pay climbed to $300,000 for two- to five-lawyer departments, $400,000 for six to 10 lawyers, about $500,000 for 11 to 25 lawyers, and more than $600,000 for more than 25 lawyers.
In other words, on the order of $100,000 per year of salary for every five or so lawyers up to around 25 laweyrs (See my posts of Dec. 26, 2007 about managerial demands rise faster than the size of the law department increases; and May 24, 2007 on big companies paying their top lawyer more.).