What a difference a year makes. This time last year, Charles Kalil was in the number 12 spot on our annual list of the highest-paid Fortune 500 general counsel. In last year’s report, the GC of The Dow Chemical Company enjoyed a hefty $1.8 million bonus and earned $2.67 million in total cash compensation. But Kalil needed fewer wheelbarrows to cart his money to the bank in 2011. His earnings took a nosedive to $1.56 million, the direct result of a precipitous $1 million drop in his bonus.

Why? The chemical giant linked its executives’ bonuses to meeting critical annual company goals in 2011. And since Dow’s top brass didn’t meet projected profit and cost management targets, Kalil’s base performance award was just half of what it could have been.

2012 GC Compensation Survey: