The general counsel is the most senior lawyer in an organisation and the leader of its legal function. The role has grown well beyond providing legal advice, and today sits at the centre of risk, governance and strategy.
What is a general counsel?
A general counsel, often shortened to GC, is the head of an organisation's in-house legal team and its most senior legal officer. They are accountable for managing the organisation's legal risk, advising leadership and the board, and making sure the business operates within the law. In many organisations the GC is part of the executive team and reports to the chief executive.
What does a general counsel do?
The remit of a general counsel is broad. The core responsibilities fall into four areas.
Legal risk and advice
The GC identifies and manages the legal risks facing the organisation, advises on significant transactions and decisions, and makes sure leadership understands the legal implications of the choices in front of them.
Governance and compliance
The GC oversees corporate governance and the organisation's compliance with the laws and regulations that apply to it, often working closely with the board and company secretary.
Commercial and strategic input
Increasingly, the GC is a commercial partner as much as a legal one, contributing to strategy and helping the business move quickly and safely rather than simply saying no.
Managing the legal function
The GC leads the in-house team, sets its priorities, manages external counsel and the legal budget, and decides how the function is structured and resourced. As legal work grows, much of this comes down to how well the function uses process and technology, including legal matter management.
General counsel vs in-house lawyer vs company secretary
These roles overlap but are distinct. All general counsel are in-house lawyers, but the GC leads the function and sits at the leadership table, whereas other in-house lawyers handle legal work within that structure. The company secretary focuses specifically on corporate governance and board administration. In smaller organisations one person may cover several of these roles, while larger organisations separate them.
What makes a good general counsel?
Legal judgement is necessary but not sufficient. The strongest general counsel combine it with commercial awareness, the ability to translate legal risk into plain business language, a steady hand on governance, and genuine leadership of their team. They are trusted advisers to the chief executive and the board, not just technical experts.
How is the general counsel role changing?
The role is moving from reactive legal adviser to strategic business partner. General counsel are under growing pressure to do more with constrained resources, to demonstrate the value the legal function delivers, and to scale through technology rather than headcount. Measuring and communicating performance has become part of the job, which is why more GCs are tracking the legal metrics that matter to the C-suite. Those building a function from scratch face the same questions covered in our guide to setting up an in-house legal department.
How Plexus helps general counsel scale their function
Plexus gives general counsel the infrastructure to scale legal work without scaling headcount. By automating routine contract and matter work and putting Plexus AI to work on review and drafting, the function can support far more of the business while keeping control. The result is a legal team that operates as a strategic partner rather than a bottleneck.
Meet Plexus Counsel, your new AI-powered digital lawyer 
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