“Seattle-based travel giant Expedia Group named Patricia Menendez-Cambo, deputy general counsel of SoftBank Group and general counsel of the SoftBank Latin America Fund and SoftBank Opportunity Fund, to its board of directors,” reports Todd Bishop in Geek Wire.

“Menendez-Cambo fills a vacancy created by the resignation in January of longtime board member A. George “Skip” Battle. She joined the board’s audit committee, satisfying a Nasdaq rule requiring three independent directors on the audit committee, Expedia said.”

“Expedia Group, based in Seattle, includes travel brands such as Vrbo, Orbitz, Hotwire, Trivago, Hotels.com, and Egencia in addition to the flagship Expedia.com. The pandemic took an extraordinary toll on the company’s business amid the massive slowdown in global travel. Annual revenue fell 57% to $5.2 billion in 2020, and gross bookings fell 66% to $36.7 billion.”

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“Wiley is pleased to announce that Thomas M. Johnson, Jr., former General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has joined the firm as a partner, and will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice. Mr. Johnson has over 15 years of experience in private practice and public service at the federal and state levels, representing clients in high-stakes appellate and regulatory litigation matters,” released Wiley in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Johnson has advised clients on all stages of federal agency rulemaking, adjudication, and litigation, in fields ranging from communications to environmental law to securities to labor and employment. As FCC General Counsel, Mr. Johnson successfully persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Commission’s media ownership reforms, resulting last week in a “unanimous knockout” (The Wall Street Journal) of a Third Circuit decision vacating those rules, and successfully defended the Commission’s “net neutrality” repeal at oral argument before the D.C. Circuit. While naturally building upon a regulatory litigation practice that focuses on communications, technology, and the internet, Mr. Johnson will be positioned to strengthen Wiley’s capabilities in administrative law and appellate litigation across all sectors and practice groups.”

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“Citadel Securities has appointed Heath Tarbert as chief legal officer, the electronic trading firm said on Thursday, months after he resigned as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” was released in Reuters’ Business News.

“The company, co-founded by billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin, said Tarbert would take on his new role on Monday and be responsible for all legal and compliance matters at the company.”

“Tarbert, a former corporate attorney and senior Treasury Department official, stepped down as CFTC chair in January. He was nominated by former President Donald Trump to be both chair and one of five commissioners at the CFTC, taking office in July 2019.”

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“The role of general counsel and chief legal officers has shifted from a defensive position to an offensive one. Bobby Balachandran, CEO of Exterro, says the Association of Corporate Counsel’s legal officers survey shows more GCs and CLOs are being called on to quarterback compliance, risk mitigation, and data privacy,” reports Bobby Balachandran of Exterro in Bloomberg Law’s Health Law & Business.

“A seismic shift has been occurring over the last several years in the role of general counsel and chief legal officers. This role is now focused as much on business risk as legal risk.”

“The increasingly overlapping responsibilities among legal, privacy, compliance, security, and IT teams in global companies are creating new challenges for GC and CLOs everywhere. Rapidly evolving regulations and laws are forcing them to assume a broader role in organization-wide compliance and risk mitigation strategies.”

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“Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange that expects to go public in April, has brought on veteran Morgan Stanley lawyer Ian Rooney as its new head of enterprise compliance,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“The San Francisco-based company also hired Molly Abraham this month as an associate general counsel for commercial. She was most recently general counsel at general counsel for flying car startup Kitty Hawk Inc.”

“The latest batch of legal hires, confirmed by Coinbase spokesman Elliott Suthers, comes a month after the company added a new compliance chief and a half-dozen other lawyers, including associate general counsel Lindsay Danas Cohen and product counsel Alexander Zozos and Kenneth Hwang.”

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“McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) announced today that Desiree Ralls-Morrison has been named the company’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, overseeing global legal operations and corporate governance. Ralls-Morrison will start on April 26, 2021 and will be based at the company’s Chicago headquarters in the West Loop,” announced McDonald’s in their press releases.

“Ralls-Morrison most recently served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Boston Scientific Corporation, a world leader of innovative medical solutions.”

“Prior to Boston Scientific Corporation, Ralls-Morrison served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Boehringer Ingelheim USA, Inc., and General Counsel of the Consumer Group at Johnson & Johnson. Ralls-Morrison currently serves on the Board of Directors for DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. and was previously a Director for The Partnership, Inc., whose mission is to ensure the economic competitiveness of the Boston area by attracting, retaining and convening professionals of color. Desiree was also a Founding Member of The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund in Massachusetts.”

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“Fox Corporation … announced the appointment of Jeff A. Taylor as General Counsel. Taylor, who joined FOX in 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel, will oversee the Company’s legal function. Claudia Teran will remain Executive Vice President and Corporate General Counsel, as well as General Counsel of FOX Sports. Both Taylor and Teran will continue to report to Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet D. Dinh,” announced Fox Corporation in their corporate press releases.

“Before joining FOX, Taylor served as Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for General Motors Co., and as the General Counsel of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Taylor served more than 15 years in the federal government, including as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2006 to 2009, Counselor to the Attorney General, Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. Taylor holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the Board of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.”

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“Tesla Inc., which has faced accusations of lax in-house legal management, has hired a new compliance leader from Walmart Inc.,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“David Searle, a former federal prosecutor who joined Walmart in 2019, became deputy general counsel and senior director of compliance at Tesla last month, according to his LinkedIn profile.”

“He spent nearly the past two years as international chief ethics and compliance officer at Walmart, which in recent months made changes to its compliance personnel.”

“Searle’s move to Tesla comes as his new employer grapples with a recently unsealed lawsuit accusing it of refusing to hire law department leaders willing to stand up to the company’s voluble co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk.”

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“After losing its chief legal officer to booming biotech Moderna, Novartis has quickly found a replacement in an AbbVie veteran with both legal and complianhttps://generalcounselnews.com/wp-admin/post-new.php#edit_timestampce experience,” reports Angus Liu in Fierce Pharma’s Pharma.

“Karen Hale, currently AbbVie’s deputy general counsel, will join Novartis as its chief legal officer on May 15, the Swiss pharma said Monday.”

“In choosing Hale, Novartis has kept its top lawyer job in the hands of a woman after Shannon Klinger abruptly left for mRNA vaccine specialist Moderna. And it has picked someone with a very similar career path as her predecessor.”

“Hale joined the Illinois drugmaker back when it was still Abbott, coming from the law firm Sidley & Austin in 1997—and she’s kept her pharma career within the company since. Before starting her current stint, Hale served as AbbVie’s chief ethics & compliance officer for six years.”

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“FIGS Inc., a fast-growing medical apparel retailer, has hired Tesla Inc.‘s former general counsel, Todd Maron, as its first legal chief,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“FIGS, which is battling a key competitor in court and reportedly mulling a potential initial public offering this year at a valuation approaching $4 billion, hired Maron last month to lead a growing legal group.”

“FIGS was called the ‘Warby Parker of scrubs’ in a 2018 Wall Street Journal story that cited the $100 million in revenue earned by the company through its aggressive marketing campaigns and direct-to-consumer business model.”

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“Big Ten Conference has named Erica McKinley its first chief legal officer and general counsel. In this role, she oversees all legal, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, compliance, litigation, regulatory, corporate, and NCAA matters, as well as outside counsel management. McKinley reports directly to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren and will work collaboratively with the Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) and the general counsels at all 14 Big Ten member institutions. She also serves as a key strategic advisor to Commissioner Warren and the conference,” released Big Ten Conference.

“Adam Neuman has served as chief of staff, strategy and operations, in the office of the commissioner and now joins the newly formed legal department as the first deputy general counsel for the conference. As chief of staff and deputy general counsel, Neuman works collaboratively with McKinley, Commissioner Warren and key constituents at all 14 Big Ten member institutions.”

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“The Obama Foundation has a new general counsel in Shawn White, a former top lawyer to billionaire philanthropist and Democratic Party donor Eli Broad,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“White will succeed outgoing legal chief Addar Levi whose new role as deputy general counsel at the Treasury Department was announced Tuesday, a day after former President Barack Obama’s Chicago-based nonprofit touted its addition of White to lead legal affairs …”

“The OPC, a $500 million project, hopes to break ground this summer following prolonged delays in its construction. The 19-acre campus with views of Lake Michigan will no longer be home to the Obama presidential library, whose documents will instead be digitized under a 2019 agreement between the Obama Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration.”

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“Digitech, a leading provider of EMS billing and technology services, has announced that Krina Merchant has been hired as Corporate Counsel and Amanda Stark has been hired as Risk Manager,” released Digitech in their News.

“Ms. Merchant brings with her a background of balancing business goals with legal risk, which allows her to effectively support departments across Digitech. She recently held a role as corporate counsel for a cutting-edge biotechnology company, and has significant experience working in heavily regulated industries. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Western Ontario (Canada) and received her Law Degree from The University of Leicester (UK). Subsequently, she earned a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall School of Law (Canada) and a second Master of Laws from Fordham University. Ms. Merchant is licensed to practice law in the State of New York. She is currently completing training to become a Certified Ambulance Compliance Officer.”

“Ms. Stark joins Digitech from Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, the nation’s leading EMS industry law firm, where she specialized in Medicare compliance. There, she co-authored the Ambulance Compliance Program Toolkit, created and taught the Certified Ambulance Compliance Officer course, and worked with clients across the country to create and improve their compliance programs. Ms. Stark is licensed to practice law in California. She earned her undergraduate degree from Millikin University, received her JD from the University of Illinois, and is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC). As Risk Manager for Digitech, her responsibilities include reviewing and auditing clients’ claims to ensure they are billed in compliance with each payer’s rules.”

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“Eli Lilly and Company … announced the upcoming retirement of two executive committee members and the naming of their successors in the company’s manufacturing operations and ethics and compliance organizations,” released Lilly in Investors’ Latest News.

“Myles O’Neill, senior vice president and president of Lilly manufacturing operations, will retire May 2, 2021 after nearly 19 years of service with the company. Melissa Barnes, senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer, will retire June 27, 2021 after more than 26 years with the company. Edgardo Hernandez, who currently serves as senior vice president, global parenteral drug product and device manufacturing, will succeed O’Neill as senior vice president and president of Lilly manufacturing operations. Alonzo Weems, presently vice president and deputy general counsel, will succeed Barnes as senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer. Hernandez and Weems will report to David A. Ricks, Lilly chairman and CEO, and both will join Lilly’s executive committee.”

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“AavantiBio, a gene therapy company focused on transforming the lives of patients with rare genetic diseases, today announced the appointment of Ty Howton as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. A veteran life sciences executive, Mr. Howton brings to AavantiBio more than two decades of strategic, operational, and legal experience in the biopharmaceutical industry,” released AavantiBio in BusinessWire.

“In his most recent position, Mr. Howton served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT), where he led Company’s global legal and compliance functions and oversaw quality assurance and information technology. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and as a member of the executive team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX), where he had general management responsibilities and oversaw all aspects of the legal and compliance departments globally, including risk management. Prior to joining Vertex, Mr. Howton worked at Genentech, Inc., where he served in a variety of legal roles before becoming the company’s chief healthcare compliance officer. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Sidley Austin LLP corporate healthcare practice where he advised on corporate transactions involving life science companies and provided regulatory counsel.”

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“UNITY Biotechnology, Inc. (“UNITY”) [NASDAQ: UBX], a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging, today announced that Alexander Nguyen has been appointed general counsel,” posts Unity Biotechnology in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Nguyen previously worked for three Roivant Sciences companies where he served as general counsel at Alyvant, head of legal at Axovant, and as head of compliance at Roivant Sciences. His responsibilities included all corporate legal work, SEC filings, equity financings, venture debt deals, licensing agreements, corporate governance at board meetings, litigation, internal investigations, asset recovery, HR, IT, compliance, and risk management. He also led the drafting and negotiation of term sheets and oversaw due diligence for acquisition of commercial-stage assets. Before that, he handled a wide range of high-stakes litigation and investigations in the private as well as the public sector, including as deputy section chief and federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Alexandria and Philadelphia, respectively, successfully leading dozens of cases involving cybercrime, data breaches, IP and trade secrets violations, FDA regulatory offenses, illegal importation of adulterated and misbranded pharmaceuticals, prescription drug diversion, white collar crime, identity theft and tax violations.”

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“HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI), a leading global marketer of branded everyday apparel, today announced that Tracy Preston has been named general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer, effective March 29, 2021,” announced HanesBrands in their Newsroom.

“Preston brings more than 25 years of experience in leading corporate legal teams and serving in international law firms. She will be responsible for HanesBrands’ global legal and compliance functions and will report to Chief Executive Officer Steve Bratspies.”

“Preston joins HanesBrands from The Neiman Marcus Group, where she was executive vice president, chief legal officer, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer. Prior to joining Neiman Marcus in 2013, Preston worked for Levi Strauss & Co., where she held a number of senior legal positions, including chief counsel, global supply chain; chief compliance officer; and chief counsel, global human resources and litigation. Earlier in her career, Preston was a partner at Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe, an international law firm founded in San Francisco.”

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“Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced today Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale is succeeding Sharon Barner as Vice President and General Counsel, effective in May,” released Cummins in their Newsroom.

“Nicole Y. Lamb-HaleLamb-Hale is currently a managing director at Kroll, a global governance, risk and transparency consultancy, and the head of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. She has 30 years of executive-level experience and a unique viewpoint on global commercial and compliance matters from her extensive service in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Kroll, Lamb-Hale was Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy consultancy, where she provided strategic advice to companies in the development and implementation of their global business objectives, including the expansion of their exports to, and presence in, international markets. ”

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“WebBank … announced the appointment of Parris Sanz as the Executive Vice President-General Counsel,” released WebBank in BusinessWire.

“Sanz joined WebBank in January 2021, bringing more than 25 years of legal experience and over 16 years as a General Counsel and executive in the FinTech industry. Before joining WebBank, Mr. Sanz was General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and SVP of Operations of Petal Card, Inc. Before Petal, Mr. Sanz was CEO of CAN Capital, Inc., where he was previously EVP, Chief Legal Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer for over 12 years. Previously, Mr. Sanz was an attorney in private practice at the law firms of Latham & Watkins, LLP and Paul Hastings LLP, where he handled a wide variety of corporate, finance, and commercial transactions.”

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“Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s general counsel Karen Seymour is leaving the bank,” reports in Reuters in their Business News.

“As Goldman’s top lawyer, Seymour played a key role in the bank’s negotiations to settle U.S. and international investigations into the role Goldman Sachs bankers played Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal. Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion last year in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and other U.S. and overseas regulators in part for breaking anti-bribery laws.”

“Seymour joined Goldman Sachs in 2018 from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where she was a partner. She previously led the criminal division at U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she prosecuted Martha Stewart in 2004.”

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