Within the last year, uncovering compensation information has become increasingly difficult as states and cities across the country began passing legislation that bans employers from questioning potential hires on salary history. States like California and Massachusetts have already approved the legislation, along with New York City, Philadelphia, and other major cities. The purpose of these new restrictions is to eliminate the gender pay gap existing in the U.S. today.

Steve Jobs was brilliant at hiring A-list players at Apple. His laser focus on designing the best products was dependent on hiring and keeping the best talent. Based on his relentless pursuit of exceptional employees, Jobs left behind valuable advice about the importance of these players to the success of a high performing team:

“I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. Given that, you’re well advised to go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”

Business leaders today expect in-house lawyers to contribute to the success of the business and serve as strategic advisors. While everyone ultimately seeks to earn a seat at the table and be considered a strategic advisor, many lawyers fall short. Nothing is more frustrating for the business team and the lawyer when this relationship doesn’t exist.

We are constantly being asked by potential new clients to differentiate BarkerGilmore from our competitors. While it may not seem difficult to find an executive search firm, keep in mind that hiring a firm can be compared to hiring an in-house counsel or compliance officer; it takes a little work and investigation to find the right fit, but it will pay off in the end.

Cornell Boggs, who served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Dow Corning Corporation, a global leader in silicon-based technology and the world’s largest silicone product producer, has joined the advisory and coaching division of BarkerGilmore, a New York-based boutique executive search firm. The newest member of a distinguished team of Fortune 500 General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officers, Boggs adds his considerable international expertise to the strategic counsel, leadership development, and other services BarkerGilmore advisors provide to legal and compliance departments, CEOs, and boards across the country, including General Counsel recruiting and placement.

In making the announcement, Robert Barker, Managing Partner of BarkerGilmore, said that Boggs’s deep roots in the industrial sector bring even more value to their range of vertical expertise and to the personalized strategies and multi-disciplinary advice they provide to drive their clients’ business. “Cornell is both an accomplished general counsel and an astute business leader with the vision, global experience, leadership, and accountability to assist legal departments in achieving their goals during times of transformation and change, while helping them formulate plans to optimize their organizations and increase revenue.”

In addition to his tenure at Dow Corning Corporation, Boggs served in a variety of industries including Miller Coors LLC/Coors Brewing Company, a leading producer of domestic and imported alcohol beverages, where he was Chief Responsibility and Ethics Officer. While at Tyco Plastics & Adhesives, a $1.74B division of the diversified global company Tyco International Ltd., he was Vice President and General Counsel. Earlier in his career, Boggs was the Americas Regional Counsel for Intel Corporation, a manufacturer of semiconductors and microprocessors for computers, held legal positions at Anheuser-Busch Companies, an American brewer and distributor, and at Monsanto Company, a publicly traded multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation.

There’s no doubt that legal departments are being run like a business, increasingly so every day. The 2017 State of the Industry Survey, conducted by the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, reveals these metrics about departments as they grow their legal spend and headcount: