Rita Tuzon, a leader and fixture within the Fox Corp.'s legal department for more than two decades, is stepping down. 

Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh announced Wednesday that Tuzon had decided to end her run at Fox, where she most recently served as executive vice president and corporate counsel. 

Tuzon said in a statement that she was “extremely proud of what we have accomplished in my 22 years at Fox. Building our businesses and serving as counsel to the incredible executive team here has been an honor.” 

Tuzon's departure comes in the wake of the $71 billion merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Co. in March, after which Fox Corp. spun off and became a stand-alone company.  Attempts to speak with Tuzon and a Fox representative were unsuccessful. 

In a news release, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch touted Tuzon's “innumerable contributions” as having “driven the success or our company for many years, most recently as we navigated the challenges surrounding the Disney transaction and the founding of Fox Corporation.”  

Dinh added that Tuzon has “one of the most gifted legal minds in the media business” and “leaves a legacy of strategic acumen, sound judgment, and tremendous legal skill.” 

Before the Disney merger, Tuzon served as executive vice president and general counsel for Fox Networks Group, which included the Fox Broadcasting Co., FX Networks and Fox Sports Media Group. She also oversaw the business and legal affairs of the Fox Network Group's international divisions in Europe, Asia and Latin America. 

As the Fox Networks Group's highest-ranking female executive, she was once described by the company as the “ultimate arbiter of what content makes it onto” TV shows. In 2016, The National Law Journal listed Tuzon among the 50 outstanding general counsels in the country, one of several honors she has received during her career.  

Tuzon joined Fox as a senior vice president of litigation for Fox Group after having served for five years as a litigation partner at the Los Angeles entertainment and commercial law firm of Hill Wynne Troop & Meisinger. She is a graduate of Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Reflecting on her time at Fox, Tuzon said in her prepared statement that she was “most proud of the diverse, inclusive and brilliant global legal and human resources teams I managed. They are some of the finest executives I have ever known, and I am confident that Fox with thrive with Lachlan at the helm.”   

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