The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., whose members include beverage behemoth Beam Suntory Inc., Bacardi and Moët Hennessy USA, has hired antitrust lawyer Courtney Armour as chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Armour, who also was appointed CLO of Responsibility.org, spent the past seven years as an antitrust lawyer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Washington, D.C., where she focused on complex litigation related to competition matters, mergers, product innovation, business counseling and domestic and foreign government investigations. 

While at the firm, she also served as a New York-based secondee lawyer to Google Inc. In that role, she oversaw investigations and advised Google on product innovations and business plans, according to a news release announcing Armour's hiring on Sept. 17. 

The spirits council, a national trade association for U.S. liquor producers, has been among several alcohol industry groups lobbying lawmakers in Congress to tax and regulate legalized marijuana similarly to alcohol. 

The spirit council's headquarters in Washington, D.C., should offer familiar surroundings for Armour, who served as the group's state government relations manager from 2005 to 2008. After leaving the council, she attended Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2011.

Council president and CEO Chris Swonger said in a statement that Armour's "expertise in antitrust law and deep knowledge of policy issues will greatly benefit our member companies at a critical time for the industry."

Armour, who could not be reached for comment, succeeds Lynne Omlie, who has served as the group's senior VP, GC and corporate secretary since 1989. Omlie will stay on as a senior adviser.