Midyear hiring still remained high in the fall as companies filled the roles vacated by general counsel and chief legal officers who had been promoted earlier this year to nonlegal C-suite positions.

Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. named Deirdre Stanley, a veteran Thomson Reuters attorney, executive vice president and general counsel to replace Sara Moss, who was promoted to vice chairman in July. Nasdaq Inc. also gave Edward Knight, its executive vice president and global chief legal and policy officer, the position of vice chairman. Taking over the legal department as chief legal officer is John Zecca, who joined Nasdaq in 2001. Entertainment Software Association announced Covington & Burling attorney Gina Vetere will be its new general counsel after former general counsel Stanley Pierre-Louis became permanent CEO in May after filling the interim CEO role since last October.

More current and former top lawyers assumed CEO roles. Jonathan Johnson was named the Overstock Inc. CEO after the longtime CEO stepped down over controversial comments. Johnson was Overstock's general counsel between 2002 and 2005 and held other corporate roles within the company. Parley Pro Inc., an online contract management platform, announced former Clearslide Inc. general counsel Olga Mack would take on the CEO role.

The most notable move this year of a general counsel becoming CEO was at Wells Fargo & Co., where C. Allen Parker temporarily took on the highest title at the bank in March. Parker will return to his general counsel duties after the bank named Charles Scharf, CEO of Bank of New York Mellon, its permanent CEO last week.

Some top lawyers also received other business-oriented C-suite positions. The National Football League's New York Jets promoted general counsel Hymie Elhai to franchise president. Other in-house lawyers received new distinctive titles. Walmart Inc. tapped former Amazon.com Inc. lawyer Nuala O'Connor to serve as its first chief counsel of digital citizenship.

Industries drenched in regulatory uncertainty on state and federal levels saw a spike in top lawyer hiring, particularly the cannabis industry. Vaporizer company Pax Labs Inc.'s newly hired general counsel Lisa "LD" Sergi Trager, formerly of cannabis dispensary chain MedMen, was tapped to serve as the interim CEO when the CEO was reportedly pushed out. TILT Holdings Inc. hired Morrison & Foerster attorney Marshall Horowitz, who's based in Los Angeles, as general counsel while the company is facing a class action in California.

Major companies to name top lawyers included Airbnb Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc.

Below is a list of September general counsel and chief legal officer appointments. Like in previous months, the health care industry seemed to be the busiest sector with many biopharmaceutical companies looking to build their internal legal departments.

Energy

The American Petroleum Institute has named Paul Afonso as its new vice president and chief legal officer. Afonso, who will start in November, is a partner and co-practice leader of the energy, utilities and environmental group at Brown Rudnick in Boston, API said in its announcement.

Afonso served as both chairman and general counsel of the Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission as well as chairman of the Energy Facilities Board.

"I'm honored to join the flagship association for this industry, which is so foundational and critical to our country and our planet," Afonso said in the announcement. "I'm grateful to have the opportunity to help lead this talented team into the future in the service of all our members."

He is a graduate of Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Georgetown University Law Center.

API said it's the only national trade association representing the natural gas and oil industry, which supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs and nearly 8% of the U.S. economy.

Faith

The Orthodox Union, the nation's oldest and largest umbrella organization for the North American Orthodox Jewish community, has named Rachel Sims as its first general counsel, the union said in a press release.

Sims joined the New York-based union after spending five years as a senior litigator at Blank Rome. She also had been a litigation associate at Greenberg Traurig and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

"Having grown up in the Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community, and the oldest grandchild of Holocaust survivors, the role of general counsel for one of the largest Jewish organizations in the world is an opportunity of a lifetime," Sims said in the release. "I am excited to use my legal skills, knowledge and experience to help the OU continue to grow and succeed in its mission to inspire the greater Jewish community and to protect its interests and values."

Sims graduated from Brooklyn Law School.

Finance

Repay Holdings Corp., an Atlanta-based provider of vertically integrated payment solutions, has appointed Tyler Dempsey as general counsel, the company revealed in its news statement.

Dempsey was outside counsel to Repay for nine years at Troutman Sanders, where he had been partner since 2008. Prior to Troutman Sanders, Dempsey was an attorney at King & Spalding.

He received a law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Aaron Kaslow, Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. has named Aaron Kaslow executive vice president and general counsel. Kaslow succeeds Ron Kuykendall, who retired after serving nearly 20 years in the role at Sandy Spring Bank.

Kaslow has served the Olney, Maryland-based Sandy Spring Bank for more than 10 years as outside counsel as partner with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, the company said in a press release.

"Through my experience working with Sandy Spring Bank as outside counsel, I came to admire the organization, its unique culture and commitment to serving its clients," Kaslow said in the release. "I am also very pleased to be working with a company that directly and positively impacts the community where I live. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Kaslow received his juris doctor from Yale Law School.

Virtus Investment Partners Inc., which operates a multi-boutique asset management business in Hartford, Connecticut, announced in a news release that Wendy Hills has joined the company as executive vice president, chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Hills most recently was executive vice president, chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary at Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. Hills, who joined Waddell & Reed in 1998, also was promoted to vice president, associate general counsel and secretary in 2005 and senior vice president, general counsel and chief legal officer in 2014.

She earned her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.

Figure Technologies Inc., a San Francisco-based consumer finance company and creator of blockchain Provenance, has appointed Ashley Harris to general counsel.

Harris joined Figure in May 2018 and most recently served as the company's deputy general counsel, the company said in a statement. Prior to Figure, Harris was general counsel and chief compliance officer at Clara Lending, an online mortgage lending startup. Previously, Harris was an executive director at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York.

Harris joined JPMorgan from Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. She has a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Health

Kadmon Holdings Inc., a New York-based biopharmaceutical company developing products for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, has promoted Gregory Moss to executive vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. He replaces Steven Gordon, who is resigning, according to the company statement.

Moss joined Kadmon in 2012, holding the senior vice president and deputy general counsel role over the last four years.

Prior to Kadmon, Moss worked as a solicitor in the corporate risk practice group of Gadens. Moss holds a bachelor of laws from Macquarie University in Sydney.

Epic Sciences Inc., a San Diego-based cancer diagnostics company, has announced Joel Smith as its general counsel and executive vice president of corporate development.

Most recently, Smith was the managing counsel of Qualcomm Life, the medical device subsidiary of semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm Inc. Smith has served in a senior executive and general counsel role at biotechnology and life sciences companies such as BioQ Pharma B.V., Triad Therapeutics Inc. and Sientra Inc.

"It is an honor to join Epic Sciences in its efforts to extend the lives of cancer patients around the world," said Smith in the company announcement. "It's an exciting time at Epic as it brings its prostate cancer test to global markets while expanding its liquid biopsy technology into breast cancer."

Smith earned his law degree and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He also has a bachelor of science degree in cellular and molecular biology and economics.

Xencor Inc., a Monrovia, California-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Celia Eckert as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Eckert joins Xencor from Synthetic Genomics Inc., where she served as vice president of corporate legal, a statement from Xencor said. Prior to Synthetic Genomics, Eckert served as associate general counsel at Sequenom Inc., and as senior director of legal affairs at Prometheus Laboratories Inc.

Before her in-house career, Eckert was an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Jones Day. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings School of Law.

Xencor specializes in developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases.

Jaguar Health Inc., a San Francisco pharmaceuticals company focused on developing sustainably derived gastrointestinal products, has promoted Jonathan Wolin to the expanded role of chief of staff, chief compliance officer and general counsel.

Wolin, who joined Jaguar last November, previously held the title of chief compliance officer and corporate counsel, according to the company's announcement. Prior to Jaguar, he was the chief administrative officer for Pacific Pulmonary Services. Wolin was also general counsel for Berkeley HeartLab Inc.

He started his legal career at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo in Washington, D.C. He holds a law degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business.

Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing medicines for addictions and drug overdose, has appointed Rahsaan Thompson to general counsel. The company said in the announcement it had newly created the general counsel position.

Thompson joins Opiant from Actelion Pharmaceuticals U.S. Inc., where he served as vice president of law for eight years. Prior to Actelion, Thompson worked for the law firm of Quarles & Brady in Chicago. He also built his in-house experience at Abraxis Bioscience LLC and McKesson Corp.

He began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Thompson obtained his law degree from Hofstra University.

Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, has named Jeffrey Munsie to the position of chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Munsie most recently served as senior vice president, general counsel and head of corporate operations at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to Concert's statement.

"I am truly excited to join Concert as it continues to make clinical progress with its pipeline of innovative medicines for chronic diseases, and I look forward to working with the management team to support Concert's product development strategies and next stages of business growth," Munsie said in the statement.

Prior to Merrimack, he was a member of the corporate department at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Boston. Munsie received his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Jounce Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapies, has hired Jacquelyn Fahey Sandell as chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Most recently, Sandell served as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Vericel Corp., according to Jounce's media statement. Prior to Vericel, she held senior legal positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. owned by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. and Genzyme Corp.

Sandell began her legal career at Shearman & Sterling in New York and London and Allen & Overy in Rome. She holds a juris doctor from Boston University School of Law.

OnKure Inc. has appointed Keith Olivia as general counsel and vice president of corporate affairs. This is a newly created position, OnKure said in a press release.

Olivia has served as OnKure's outside corporate counsel since its founding in April 2011 as a member of his law firm Roberts & Olivia. He also had been an associate at Hogan & Hartson, Holme Roberts & Owen and Lionel Sawyer & Collins.

He has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Law School and Colorado State University's MBA program. He received a law degree from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, OnKure is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted small molecule drugs to improve the outcomes of patients living with cancer.

"I am privileged to be able to work with OnKure full-time and excited by the challenges associated with the continued development of our clinical and pre-clinical drug candidates," Olivia said in the release.

Insitro, a machine-learning driven drug discovery and development company in South San Francisco, California, has hired Duane Valz as general counsel.

Valz joins Insitro from biological machines integrator Zymergen, where he served as the company's first in-house lawyer and general counsel. Prior to Zymergen, Valz was a senior patent lawyer at Google. He's also served as associate general counsel in charge of patent development at Yahoo Inc.

"The process of drug discovery and development is notoriously challenging and prone to failure," Valz said in the press statement. "Building useful predictive models to tackle key questions in that process will require generation of experimental data at unprecedented scale, consistency and quality, and the development of cutting edge machine learning methods. The outstanding team at Insitro is well-positioned to drive the necessary innovation on both the experimental and computational sides, as well as at the intersection, and to effectively utilize the results towards making better drugs and helping patients."

His legal career began at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin. He holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Shawn Deane, Ametros Financial

Shawn Deane has joined Ametros Financial as general counsel, the post-settlement medical administration company said in a press release.

Most recently Deane served as vice president of Medicare and Medicaid compliance and policy for Verisk Analytics and ISO Claims Partners.

Deane earned his juris doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law.

GRAIL Inc., a health care company whose mission is to detect cancer early, has named Marissa Song general counsel and corporate secretary, the company announced.

Song joins GRAIL from Gilead Sciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company where she spent more than 14 years, most recently serving as vice president of corporate legal.

Prior to Gilead, Song was a corporate associate at Latham & Watkins, focusing on mergers and acquisitions. She earned her juris doctor from the University of Southern California.

Hospitality

Crestline Hotels & Resorts LLC has appointed Mónica León Bernstein to senior vice president and general counsel. Bernstein succeeds Pierre Donahue, who is retiring from Crestline after 13 years as the company's executive vice president and general counsel, according to Crestline's announcement.

Bernstein joins Fairfax, Virginia-based Crestline from Interstate Hotels & Resorts Inc., where she was senior vice president and assistant general counsel. During her six years with Interstate Hotels, Bernstein served as corporate counsel then senior vice president and assistant general counsel.

Prior to her in-house career, she was an associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C. She also clerked for U.S. District Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida in Miami. Bernstein earned her juris doctor from The George Washington University Law School.

Insurance

Sarasota, Florida-based Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Co. has appointed Lisa Thompson to general counsel, vice president of legal and compliance.

Prior to Gulfstream, Thompson served as senior vice president of legal and compliance for Bankers Insurance Co. in St. Petersburg, Florida, according to Gulfstream's statement.

Thompson earned her law degree from Stetson University College of Law.

Maintenance

Ferrandino & Son Inc., a Farmingdale, New York-based national facility maintenance company, has named Edward Slezak as the company's senior vice president and general counsel. Slezak officially started in late July, the company revealed in a September press release.

During his career, Slezak has held general counsel roles at companies such as Aeropostale Inc. and Crumbs Bake Shop with their legal department needs. In addition to being general counsel, he was the CEO for Crumbs Bake Shop.

"I am very excited to be part of the Ferrandino & Son team," Slezak said in the release. "I greatly admire the work that the company has done and look forward to supporting the organization's ongoing growth and evolution."

Slezak holds a juris doctor degree from St. John's University School of Law.

Manufacturing

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. in Nashville, Tennessee, announced in a press release it has hired Nicole Daniel to be senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Daniel joins the building solutions manufacturer from natural soda ash producer Ciner Enterprises Inc. and Ciner Resources LP in Atlanta, where she served as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to Ciner, she was previously vice president, chief compliance officer and deputy counsel of chemical company Albemarle Corp.

She earned a law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Nonprofit

Communication Service for the Deaf Inc. in New York has announced Maria Wilson has been promoted to chief legal officer. She will be based in Austin, Texas.

Wilson first joined deaf advocacy organization in 2013 as a staff attorney and in 2015 she was promoted to senior attorney. Prior to the organization, she was a Social Security disability attorney with Bill Gordon & Associates, representing clients in their disability hearings throughout Texas.

"I am extremely honored to have been named CSD's chief legal officer," Wilson said in the press release. "I have been proud to call CSD my professional home for many years. I am very excited to be extending my work at CSD, continuing to have the opportunity to contribute to the organization's important mission and now serving as CLO and being a part of the executive management team."

Wilson earned her juris doctor degree at the University of Houston Law Center.

Ben Huddleston has joined Southwestern Family of Companies as general counsel, the company announced in a press release. Southwestern owns many companies located in Tennessee in the insurance, real estate, investment and tax industries.

Prior to Southwestern, Huddleston served as vice president and corporate secretary at Quorum Health and vice president of legal services at Community Health Systems, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also had been a group general counsel of Southeast and mid-Atlantic region at DaVita. Before going in-house, he was a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis.

He earned a law degree from The University of Tennessee College of Law.

Technology

Alison Alfers, Cherwell Software.

Cherwell Software LLC, a service management provider, has hired Alison Alfers as general counsel. She will split her time between the company's headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the company's office in Denver, said Cherwell's announcement.

Alfers joins Cherwell from HawkEye 360, a small satellite operator, as the chief legal officer. Prior to HawkEye 360, Alfers was the chief legal officer at TwentyEighty Inc. She also served as senior vice president and general counsel for DigitalGlobe Inc., where she also held the position of vice president, defense and intelligence. Before DigitalGlobe, she served as general counsel for Knowledge Learning Corp. and SpaceImaging Inc.

"I am excited to be back in Denver and looking forward to supporting the organization as we help global customers expand their digital capabilities and drive business results with Cherwell's innovative technology," Alfers said in the announcement.

Annabel Lewis has been named chief legal officer at Onapsis Inc., a cybersecurity application maker in Boston.

Onapsis said in a statement Lewis served as general counsel and secretary for Singtel, or Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., now a part of Trustwave Holdings Inc. She started as vice president of legal and senior managing counsel at Trustwave then moved up to senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. She also had a stint at NetBrain Technologies as chief legal officer.

She is a graduate of St. Mary's University School of Law.

Keeley Aleman, Waters Corp.

Keeley Aleman, vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary at specialty measurement company Waters Corp., will take the reins of senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. She replaces Mark Beaudouin, who is retiring after 16 years and will stay in an advisory role until the end of the year, according to the company's press release.

Prior to joining the Milford, Massachusetts-based Waters in 2006 as the assistant general counsel, Aleman had been an associate at Goodwin Procter and Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault. She holds a juris doctor from Boston University School of Law.

Rich Sauer, a Microsoft Corp. veteran, has taken over as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at cloud-based software provider Workday Inc. while Jim Shaughnessy, Workday's general counsel since 2011, became executive vice president for corporate affairs, according to a company blog post.

"As Workday continues to expand globally, explore opportunities to innovate in new areas, and remain committed to our data privacy principles, it's important we invest in corporate affairs and our legal organization, which is why I'm both honored and excited to share that I've taken on the role of executive vice president, corporate affairs," Shaughnessy wrote in the post where he interviews Sauer. "I am equally pleased to announce that Rich Sauer has joined the Workday legal team as executive vice president, general counsel (GC), and corporate secretary."

Rich Sauer, Workday

Prior to joining the Pleasanton, California-based Workday, Sauer held several senior roles within Microsoft's corporate, external and legal affairs departments, including as corporate vice president and deputy general counsel responsible for supporting Microsoft's worldwide sales and marketing division. Sauer also led Microsoft's regulatory affairs team.

"Gone are the days when the legal function has an arms-length relationship with the business, and where risk mitigation is the GC's only concern," Sauer said in the interview. "Compliance, risk mitigation, integrity, and standards of business conduct are vital parts of the job. But, it's equally important for the GC and the legal department to feel a shared accountability for the overall success of the business, including driving revenue growth, growing market share, and fostering innovation.

"Particularly in the business of cloud computing, where the sales and legal issues are essentially the same—such as privacy and security—it's critical for the legal team to be deeply integrated with the business and working in close partnership to win customer trust."

Before going in-house at Microsoft in 1999, Sauer was an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell. He holds a law degree from American University's Washington College of Law.

Cloud storage provider Storj Labs has hired Katherine Johnson as its general counsel and vice president of compliance and human resources.

Storj Labs said in its announcement that Johnson's expertise in compliance, especially during her tenure at San Francisco-based digital currency platform Coinbase Inc., will aid the company in launching its first enterprise-ready decentralized cloud storage platform later this year and navigating the evolving regulatory landscape.

Johnson previously joined the Atlanta-based Storj Labs advisory board in February and will remain as an adviser. She also held past in-house roles at Ernst & Young, Credit Suisse Group AG and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

"Since meeting Ben, Shawn, and the rest of the Storj Labs team, I've been impressed by the company they've built and the amazing work the team has put forth ahead of its beta. I look forward to contributing to that effort ahead of the production launch this fall," Johnson said in the announcement. "The crypto asset ecosystem is quickly evolving and there aren't many companies better prepared for it than Storj Labs."

Johnson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Transportation

Ritu Vig, SP Plus Corp.

SP Plus Corp., a Chicago-based provider of parking, ground transportation, baggage handling and related services to commercial, institutional, municipal and aviation clients throughout North America, has promoted Ritu Vig to chief legal officer and secretary.

Vig joined SP Plus as senior vice president, deputy general counsel in 2018. SP Plus said in a statement that Vig has been working closely with longtime CLO Robert Sacks, who is moving into a consulting role as he transitions into retirement after 31 years with the company.

Prior to SP Plus, Vig served as vice president, associate general counsel of Securities and Exchange Commission, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance for R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. in Chicago. She spent nearly a decade with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.

Vig earned her juris doctor from the University of Illinois and MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.