Frequent status reports really help retain clients. In the back of their minds, customers are always wondering, "What's going on with my project." The more we inform them, the more comfortable they will be. Unless, of course, the results are negative. That's a different letter entirely.
In this situation, the client has asked me to research compensation for a legal position they are filling. Here is my to-the-point status report. Normally, I would never say, "I'm doing other things for other people," but in this case, the client is a friend and fully understands.
Subject: Status from Bill Frank
Date: 09 Jan 20— 12:08:47
From: "William S. Frank"
To: Alywn Conway
Alwyn,
I asked our executive compensation consultants to do a study regarding compensation for Chief General Counsel, VP & General Counsel, Sr. VP & General Counsel, and similar titles for the senior position. This is a study of 2,000 U.S. companies—extremely accurate for our purposes.
They consulted four (4) sources:
- Mercer Financial, Accounting & Legal
- National Executive Compensation
- Watson Wyatt Top Management
- ECCI Oil & Gas
Here are the findings.
- Average base = $164.8K; average total comp = $217.2K
- At the 75th percentile, base = $214K; total comp = $290K
- At the 90th percentile, base = $248K; total comp = $369K
As a general rule, private companies pay 15% less than public companies. These numbers are amortized to February 1, 20—. Kick this around in your mind, and let's discuss.
I haven't made any more calls since we last talked. This has been a week full of emergency calls from companies making last-minute layoffs, and we've had to respond. Next week looks much better. I'll make more calls, and let's catch up then.
:B