Typical ones in-house are (from junior to senior): Associate Counsel (rare), Counsel, Senior Counsel, Assistant General Counsel (rare), Associate General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, General Counsel, and Chief Legal Officer.
The general counsel (GC) is the chief legal officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The GC serves as the legal advisor to the Director of the CIA and is responsible for the sound and efficient management of the legal affairs of the CIA.
Associate or Assistant General Counsel These roles may lead teams of attorneys or paralegals, or function as individual contributors. The title of "Associate General Counsel" often implies a slightly higher level of seniority and responsibility compared to "Assistant General Counsel."
In his book Law Department Benchmarks: Myths, Metrics and Management, Rees Morison states that, based on compensation surveys and extensive analysis of legal titles, the title “Associate General Counsel” appears to bespeak more authority than “Assistant General Counsel.”
General Counsel handles court negotiations, conveys legal advice to the executives, manages the legal team and oversees compliance regulations. The CLO is a C-Suite position that acts as a linchpin between the business and legal teams.
The Assistant General Counsel (AGC) is responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to senior management and other departments within the organization.
Job Duties: Provide counsel on internal audit and corporate governance programs, policies, and documents, on an as-needed basis. Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts, licensing agreements, and other legal agreements.
An Assistant General Counsel is most likely to be found in larger corporations or in government, especially in the US. The Assistant General Counsel usually reports directly into the GC and is a lawyer with around 3-5 years post-qualification experience in commercial law.
Provides counsel to senior leadership. Additionally, Assistant General Counsel identifies and analyzes legal issues, drafts key documents, presents clear recommendations to top management, and assures legal compliance.