It’s official: Google rules the world! Not only has Google become the world’s most visited Internet property, but its legal department is one of the most coveted places for attorneys to work for in the U.S. and around the world.
Google’s Law Department has grown from a 2 “legal employees” group in 2001, to well over 100 in 2009. “Superstars only” need to apply. And even then, prospective Google lawyers can expect up to 15 interviews, including one with one of the company’s founders, as a final hurdle before getting the job.
Is it worth it? You bet.
First there are the perks that we all thought were a thing of the past, gone up in smoke when the technology bubble burst back in 2000.
Not so at Google, where employees still enjoy free meals, travel subsidies, gym memberships, a budget to decorate their work area, and permission to bring Fido to work, amongst other things. There is also the popular ’20 percent time’, which theoretically allows all employees, including lawyers, to spend a fifth of their time on projects or devising ideas outside their typical job responsibilities.
There is also the cutting edge work.
It is not difficult to see why lawyers are lining up to work at Google. Aside from the perks, lawyers at Google are presented with a wealth of groundbreaking legal work to cut their teeth into. Each member of the team is assigned to a different product, such as Google Maps or YouTube, but also specialize in a certain practice area. The work done at Google is the type you will see talked about in magazines and newspapers across the country. It’s generally cutting edge, exciting, and high stakes. Google attorneys tend to be primarily focused on intellectual property. They usually have extended IT backgrounds more typically associated with programmers, engineers, and coders.
And let’s not forget the money!
Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, earned a total of $5.12 million in 2008 which included a salary of $450,000, a $1.38 million bonus, and $3.29 million in stock and option awards, according to Google’s 2009 annual stockholders meeting. In addition, Drummond earned nearly $11.9 million by exercising options and stock awards.
Drummond is doing better than average. According to a survey of larger companies released last year by Hildebrandt International, the average total compensation—which included pay, bonus and long-term incentives—was nearly $2 million for chief legal officers.
What about the other Google lawyers?
Starting lawyer salaries at Google range between $140,000 to $170,000, but as we can see from Drummond’s package, it’s the other salary perks that really place Google’s legal staff head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to compensation.
It’s good to be at Google…
Written on: 05/29/09 PDF Version