The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced Thursday it has hired Charles Marshall as general counsel after a string of high-level departures at the school.

Marshall’s predecessor Mark Merritt left UNC in 2018 to return to firm Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson after less than two years in the GC role. Longtime UNC lawyers Steve Keadey and Kara Simmons have served as interim general counsel since Merritt’s move.

The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s independent student newspaper, reported the university’s chancellor, vice chancellor for student affairs, chairperson of the faculty committee, vice chancellor for workforce strategy, equity and engagement, and chief of police have also left within the past year.

Marshall, who earned both his bachelor of arts degree and Juris Doctor from UNC, will officially start as general counsel and vice chancellor Sept. 16.

“The opportunity to come back home to Carolina is very exciting,” Marshall said in a statement. “My practice has always been broad and diverse, and taking on complex issues is a passion of mine. I’m really looking forward to bringing my skillset to the university.”

In his new role, Marshall will provide legal advice to the university’s board of directors, executives and staff, UNC interim chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a post Thursday. He’ll also serve as a liaison to the larger University of North Carolina system and the state’s attorney general’s office.

Guskiewicz’s post announcing Marshall’s appointment emphasized the new hire’s background in data privacy and digital media, which “will be vitally important for protecting the university in today’s landscape of privacy threats and rapid technological change.”

Marshall is currently a partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard’s Raleigh, North Carolina, office. According to his Brooks Pierce biography, Marshall counsels clients on data breaches, government investigations, business disputes and other matters.

The firm said in a press release that Marshall “has been a great asset to Brooks Pierce since joining the firm in 2003, bringing unique insight and perspective to a variety of complex legal issues, and we wish him well in his new endeavor.”

Prior to joining Brooks Pierce, Marshall spent four years as an appellate litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice and two years as a policy adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell. He has also served as the outside general counsel to the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.

“We are delighted that Charles is returning to Carolina and will serve in this critical role of vice chancellor and general counsel for our university,” Guskiewicz said in a statement. “He brings a wide range of professional knowledge and diverse experience to this position, ranging from being an accomplished litigator, attorney and work in all three branches of the federal government to his in-depth knowledge in areas of digital media and data privacy.”

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