More than two-thirds of ASX100 general counsels have been promoted from within their organisation or appointed from another in-house role, according to a new report.

The ‘ASX100 General Counsel Report: The nature of the role as at 30 June 2012’ found that 75 percent of general counsels had some private practice experience and 32 percent had reached partner level, but the overwhelming trend when appointing a general counsel was to promote individuals role from within the corporate legal sector. During the past financial year a total of 12 general counsels within the ASX100 were newly appointed.   

92 percent of ASX100 companies have a specified general counsel function, while 32 ASX100 companies cited their general counsel as ‘key management personnel’ for the purposes of ASX reporting on remuneration. As regulatory and operating environments for listed companies continue to become more complex, the report’s authors (the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and the University of Technology, Sydney) expect that an increasing number of ASX companies will introduce a dedicated general counsel function in the future.

92 percent of the ASX 100 general counsels were based in Australia: roughly half were based in New South Wales (49 percent), followed by Victoria (26 percent), Western Australia (eight percent), Queensland (seven percent) and South Australia (three percent). Despite a greater level of female participation overall, when it comes to the ASX100 general counsels, men still dominate, accounting for 70 percent of the group.

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