Apple’s Top Lawyer Adams Got $26.9 Million Pay Package in 2023

Apple Inc. awarded its top lawyer Katherine “Kate” Adams more than $26.9 million last fiscal year, the bulk of which came from roughly $22.3 million in stock awards, the company disclosed in its annual proxy statement.

Adams was paid $1 million in base salary and nearly $3.6 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation during 2023, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said in the proxy statement.

The pay package was almost identical to the $26.9 million that Adams earned in 2021 and down slightly from the $27.1 million she received for 2022.

Adams, a former Sidley Austin partner and one-time top lawyer at Honeywell International Inc., was hired by Apple in 2017 to succeed D. Bruce Sewell as its top lawyer and corporate secretary. Since that time, Adams has perennially been one of the highest-paid corporate law leaders.

Legal chief pay is composed of a mix of cash compensation and incentive-based stock awards. Bloomberg data shows that Adams currently owns about $54.6 million in Apple stock. Within the past year she has sold off more than $46.5 million in company shares, according to securities filings.

Apple’s proxy states that Adams, 59, oversees all legal matters at the company, including corporate governance, compliance, litigation, intellectual property, global security, and privacy.