Apple's incoming chief lawyer Katherine Adams has received a generous bonus package in the form of restricted stock units, or RSUs, according to a mandatory disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

katherine adams apple

Katherine Adams

The first part of the award consists of 57,482 RSUs that vest in quarterly instalments on the 13th day of May 2018, November 2018, November 2019, and November 2020, so long as Adams remains employed by Apple on those dates.

The second part of the award consists of up to 57,482 RSUs, a percentage of which will vest on October 1, 2020 based on Apple's relative total shareholder return between November 13, 2017 and September 26, 2020.

Based on Apple's performance compared to companies in the S&P 500 over the next three years, Adams can see the second part of her award increased by as much as 100 percent, or decreased to zero if Apple were to underperform.

Based on Apple's closing price of $169.08 on Wednesday, each portion of 57,482 RSUs is worth slightly over $9.7 million for a potential total value of $19.4 million. The amount could be higher or lower based on Apple's performance.

Apple frequently awards its senior executives with restricted stock units as an incentive for them to stay with the company.

Adams will succeed the retiring Bruce Sewell as Apple's General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal and Global Security at the end of the year. She was previously general counsel at Honeywell.

Apple's general counsel oversees all legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy.

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
105 months ago
"Apple's general counsel oversees all legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy."

They left out the most important item, structuring tax shelters to ensure Apple only pays taxes in island nations with favorable rates. That alone is worth multiple billions per year to Apple.
I never get comments like this, as 100% of the time the person making it always fails to respond to the follow-up rebuttal:

"Please describe the last time you paid a single penny more on your taxes than you were required to pay legally." I have yet, after all this time, to find a single person who has said "I paid X more for the good of the US and its debt load."
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trusso Avatar
105 months ago
I am sure she is very valuable to the company. Just as Tim Cook is valuable to the company. And they both work very hard at what they do, I have no doubt. It's important to remember, however, that in this world, so much comes down to luck. That is the sad but honest truth – reason for the rest of us to be content with what we have, and reason for those of worldly renown to remain ever humble.

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered — either by themselves or by others. But for the Civil War, Lincoln ('https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln') and Grant ('https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant') and Sherman ('https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman') and Sheridan ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sheridan') would not have been discovered, nor have risen into notice. I have touched upon this matter in a small book which I wrote a generation ago and which I have not published as yet — Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven. When Stormfield arrived in heaven, he was told that … a shoemaker … was the most prodigious military genius the planet had ever produced.
-Mark Twain
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarpalMac Avatar
105 months ago
I never get comments like this, as 100% of the time the person making it always fails to respond to the follow-up rebuttal:

"Please describe the last time you paid a single penny more on your taxes than you were required to pay legally." I have yet, after all this time, to find a single person who has said "I paid X more for the good of the US and its debt load."
That rebuttal is irrelevant, it isn't remotely comparable to the point originally being made. To be relevant, it needs to ask when was the last time that person didn't actively go out to research tax havens for their business and then do the necessary to register a company in said location (or whatever is needed) in order to then store their money there and avoid higher tax rates elsewhere.

Offering to pay more for a product is not the same thing and certainly not a rebuttal.

Of course, another reason why no one has replied might be because anyone who reads this forum regularly knows you are one of the most loyal and vocal defenders of Apple here, so are sure to find a way to criticise, discredit, find fault or simply deflect any such response - so they simply don't bother. Just like I probably shouldn't have.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
78Bandit Avatar
105 months ago
"Apple's general counsel oversees all legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy."

They left out the most important item, structuring tax shelters to ensure Apple only pays taxes in island nations with favorable rates. That alone is worth multiple billions per year to Apple.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
105 months ago
Well deserved. Has done good work and saved the corporation billions.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
randomgeeza Avatar
105 months ago
Can you provide evidence and references that Apple has not paid taxes that were actually owed the US government?
Re: Paradise Papers....
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...