By Erin Geiger Smith

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Top lawyers working for tech, media and telecom companies were better paid than their colleagues in other industries, according to a new survey by Equilar, an executive compensation firm.

The tech, media and telecom industries paid their general counsels a median of $1.7 million. The lowest-paying industries -- retail and consumer firms -- paid a median of $1.1 million, according to the survey.

The Equilar report was based on information on the compensation of approximately 400 general counsel from Fortune 1000 companies in 2012.

The survey found that of those 400 general counsels, those companies with higher revenues earned more than the top lawyers at businesses with smaller revenues.

The median compensation for the top lawyer at a company with more than $20 billion in revenues was nearly $2.8 million. Companies with revenues between $5 billion and $10 billion paid their GCs a median $1.3 million.

The survey also looked at a narrower group of 136 general counsels from Fortune 1000 companies, and compared their 2012 compensation to their 2011 pay. In this group, pay packages rose slightly, reaching a median of $1,548,000 in 2012, up from $1,512,000 in 2011.

By examining the public filings of Fortune 500 companies, Equilar uncovered differences in pay for male and female general counsels, as well.

Though 148 of the 175 general counsels included were male, the women of that group earned slightly more. The median compensation for a female general counsel was nearly $1.3 million, while men earned just over $1.1 million.

For law schools, the Equilar report highlights the campuses that serve as a breeding ground for general counsels. The school with the most general counsels at Fortune 500 companies, as compiled from public data, is Harvard, with 16 out of 175. Second place goes to Georgetown University, which boasts 12.

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