£22 million 🤑
Apple’s top lawyer earned an astounding $27.2 million (£21.4 million) last year, far exceeding the earnings of partners at elite City law firms.
Stock awards formed the largest portion of Kate Adams’ earnings, Apple’s General Counsel, amounting to $22.2 million (£17.5 million). This was supplemented by a base salary of $1 million (£786,000) and an additional $4 million (£3.2 million) in cash compensation, according to Bloomberg Law. This impressive package cements Adams’ status as one of the highest-paid lawyers in the world.
Adams, who joined Apple in 2017, has also been cashing in on her stock holdings.
According to the website, over the past four years she has sold approximately $140 million (£110 million) worth of Apple shares, including $43.7 million (£34.4 million) in 2024 alone. Even after these sales, she still apparently holds shares valued at $42.4 million (£33.4 million).
Focusing on her £21.4 million earnings last year, The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2025 shows that Adams earned roughly ten times the average profit per equity partner (PEP) at a Magic Circle firm, where the figure usually hovers around £2 million.
Adams’ remuneration highlights the vast earning potential for in-house legal chiefs at multinational corporations, outpacing even the most lucrative roles in private practice.
Adams oversees Apple’s legal matters, including compliance, intellectual property, litigation, and privacy — a significant remit for a company frequently embroiled in high-stakes legal battles. This month alone, Apple settled a $95 million (£74.7 million) lawsuit over allegations that its voice assistant Siri violated users’ privacy.
Reflecting on her career in a recent talk at the University of Chicago Law School, Adams highlighted the increasing complexity of in-house legal roles. “These jobs have gone from sort-of lifestyle jobs to the work being incredibly challenging, extremely interesting, and very demanding,” she said.