City National Bank's senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jared Wolff has been promoted to the  general counsel seat.

And while some in-house lawyers wait a lifetime for this type of gig, Wolff's move to the GC role came after just four months at Los Angeles-based City National.

He's replacing Mike Cahill, who was with City National for nearly 17 years and oversaw its 2015 acquisition by the Royal Bank of Canada. Cahill retired from the bank on April 30, according to the announcement of Wolff's promotion.

“I was fortunate to be able to work with Mike Cahill,” Wolff told Corporate Counsel in an interview Wednesday. “He was GC here for quite a long time…I had the luxury of having a transition with him, and that is often not the case. He had a wonderful road map and helped me transition into the new role.”

Wolff has a wealth of experience in the financial industry, on both the legal and business sides. He was at PacWest Bancorp from 2002 to 2014, where he served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He was also president of PacWest Bancorp subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank. At PacWest Bancorp, he oversaw acquisitions and had oversight responsibility on corporate governance, risk management, compliance and internal audit.

Most recently, Wolff was a co-managing partner at Quarter Group, a Los Angeles real estate firm.

“Jared brings to City National a track record of very effective leadership and a wealth of legal, business and banking experience,” said City National Bank chairman and CEO Russell Goldsmith in the promotion announcement. “He will oversee an outstanding legal and corporate administrative team that supports our company's growth and dedication to helping our clients on the way up.”

Wolff will report directly to Goldsmith. He'll also join the company's executive committee and oversee the corporate administrative group on legal and corporate governance, community reinvestment and corporate premises and security.

“City National enjoys an outstanding reputation for integrity and excellence because of how we treat our clients,” Wolff said in a statement. “Our growth is a direct result of our values and the tremendous talent of our colleagues. I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful organization and look forward to working with my colleagues in support of City National's continuing growth and success.”

Wolff earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan. He is licensed to practice law in both New York and California.

This story has been updated to include comment from Wolff.