The attorney who led the legal department at Tribune Media as it emerged from bankruptcy five years ago is now joining Sonos Inc. following the smart speaker startup's recent IPO.

The Santa Barbara, California-based wireless speaker industry pioneer announced Monday that Edward “Eddie” Lazarus will become its chief legal officer, effective Jan. 2. He succeeds general counsel Craig Shelburne, who co-founded Sonos in 2002 and left last month to serve as an adviser to high-growth, private companies in the Washington, D.C., area, according to his LinkedIn profile.

At Sonos, Lazarus will oversee all legal, corporate governance, SEC reporting, government affairs, regulatory and compliance activities globally, according to a news release announcing his appointment.

Prior to joining Tribune as GC and chief strategy officer in January 2013, Lazarus was a top official at the Federal Communications Commission between 2009 and early 2012, a time when the agency produced the first National Broadband Plan and adopted “Open Internet” rules.

“As we continue to grow as a public company, Eddie adds an important strategic voice to our leadership team at Sonos,” CEO Patrick Spence said in the announcement. “His broad experience in legal and government affairs combined with deep expertise in business strategy will be essential as we continue to expand into new markets and categories, and reach more listeners throughout the world.”

After earning his degree from Yale Law School, Lazarus clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, and later served in the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. In private practice, he was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he chaired the national litigation steering committee and founded the firm's appellate practice.

He could not immediately be reached for comment about his move but said in the statement that “Sonos has built an impressive culture of innovation that is positioned for great success over the long-term.”

Lazarus added: “I'm excited to join the Sonos team as it continues to invent terrific products and build a business that inspires the world to listen better.”

Sonos announced in early July that it would go public, and the IPO closed the following month, bringing in $83.3 million in its debut, according to a report in Corporate Counsel sister publication The Recorder, based in San Francisco.

Just last week, Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced that it will buy Tribune's 42 television stations and cable network in an all-cash $4.1 billion deal that would create the largest TV station company nationwide.