Goldman Sachs Legal Chief Ruemmler Gets Boost in Annual Pay

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chief legal officer and general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler saw her pay rise 33% last year, putting her in line with other senior executives at the financial services giant.

Ruemmler received $16 million in total annual compensation during 2023, according to a March 15 proxy filing by Goldman, up from $12 million the year prior. The sum includes $8.7 million in performance-based restricted stock units, $5.8 million in cash, and a $1.5 million annual base salary.

Her pay raise came as Goldman saw profits plunge last year with capital markets activity quiet and a failed foray into consumer banking that led to hundreds of job losses.

Goldman also gave a 24% pay hike to David Solomon, its chief executive officer, with the company citing his “decisive leadership” last year. John Waldron, Goldman’s president and chief operating officer, saw his pay rise 28% in 2023. He and Solomon both took compensation cuts the year prior.

The company has been trying to simplify its strategy and put to rest internal rifts, according to Bloomberg News. Goldman’s proxy identifies Ruemmler as the only woman among its five highest-paid executives.

Ruemmler is a member of Goldman’s management committee, which this year saw two other women—Beth Hammack and Stephanie Cohen—confirm their departures. Goldman appointed another woman, Ericka Leslie, last year to join that body, which includes former Big Law associate Asahi Pompey.

Goldman said in a statement its calculations for “annual variable compensation” are determined after year end. The totals are different than US Securities and Exchange Commission rules that require the inclusion of a summary compensation table showing salary and bonus information for a company’s CEO, chief financial officer, and three other highest-paid executives.

To comply with SEC rules, Goldman’s proxy filing has a summary compensation table that put Ruemmler’s total compensation last year at $13.3 million, down from the $17.1 million she received in fiscal 2022. The metric includes the value of equity awards granted during that year and not those after year end, even if those awards were for services in that year, Goldman said.

Sex Bias Settlement

Ruemmler was an “invaluable” adviser to Goldman’s “leadership across a broad range of legal, reputational, and regulatory matters with a strong track record of exceptional judgment and informed and sound counsel,” per its proxy.

She was also cited for bringing “long-standing litigation matters to a successful resolution.” Goldman agreed to a $215 million gender bias settlement last year hailed as a potential milestone in revaming pay protocols on Wall Street.

Lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell; Paul Hastings; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; and DLA Piper represented Goldman in the long-running gender discrimination litigation, which started nearly two decades ago.

Ruemmler also worked to “enhance collaboration and synergies” with Goldman’s legal, compliance, and conflicts resolution functions, the company said.

Ruemmler, 52, currently owns roughly $2.5 million in Goldman stock, according to Bloomberg data. Securities filings show that she’s sold off nearly $5.2 million in company shares within the past year.

Goldman initially hired Ruemmler to be its global head of regulatory affairs in 2020. She was named the following year to succeed Goldman’s former top lawyer, Karen Seymour, who returned to Sullivan & Cromwell.

Ruemmler is a former chair of the white-collar defense and investigations practice at Latham & Watkins. She previously worked in the Obama administration, where she was White House counsel and a candidate to replace former US Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.

Goldman Legal Roster

Goldman’s legal group has undergone some changes in recent years.

David Rusoff, general counsel for the company’s global banking and markets unit, and David Thomas, the top lawyer for its asset and wealth management division, left Goldman last summer to join hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities LLC. Two other veteran Goldman in-house lawyers, Thomas Riggs III and David Plutzer, each took over duties from Rusoff and Thomas.

Ruemmler also recruited former Latham litigation partner Michael Bosworth as a deputy general counsel in late 2022. Bosworth assumed the leadership of some functions that had been held by Darrell Cafasso, Goldman’s former global head of litigation and regulatory proceedings who is now a partner at Orrick.

Bosworth, Plutzer, Riggs, and Ruemmler are all Goldman partners, as are Andrew Bagley and Gareth Bater, the company’s regional general counsel based out of London and Hong Kong, respectively.

Michael Gramer, a former associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, also joined Goldman last year as vice president of litigation and regulatory proceedings.