J. Michael Luttig, the former general counsel of Boeing until last May, who most recently was tasked with overseeing legal issues related to the 737 Max aircraft accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, announced that he will retire after the CEO was forced out earlier this week.

"It has been an honor to serve as Boeing's general counsel and as counselor and senior advisor to the Boeing board of directors," Luttig, 65, said in a statement released Thursday.

"I will be eternally grateful to The Boeing Company, to the Boeing board of directors, to CEOs Dennis Muilenburg and Jim McNerney, and to former Lead Director Ken Duberstein for the opportunity and the privilege to serve this great company and the extraordinary men and women who, together, are The Boeing Company."

A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment beyond the news release and Luttig was not made available for an interview Friday. The statement said he would retire at year end.

Luttig became Boeing's general counsel in 2006 after serving as a judge for 15 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In May, he stepped away from his role as general counsel to lead legal matters related to the fatal aircraft accidents involving the 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded since March after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, and was given the title of counselor and senior adviser. The crashes killed a total of 346 people. Brett Gerry currently serves as Boeing's general counsel. Gerry previously served as president of Boeing Japan.

Luttig's decision to retire, which the company said was "long considered," comes in the same week that CEO Dennis Muilenburg resigned from his post as CEO and as board director. His resignation comes after the company lost approximately $2 billion in the third quarter of 2019. Boeing's chief financial officer, Greg Smith, is serving as the interim CEO while David Calhoun, the board's chair, transitions into the role. Calhoun is expected to take over as CEO and president Jan.13 and he will remain on the board of directors. Effective immediately, board member Lawrence Kellner was named non-executive board chairman.

"We are deeply indebted to Judge Luttig for his extraordinary service to Boeing over these nearly 14 years, especially through this past, challenging year for our company," Smith said in the release. "The board and I will always be grateful for the judge's remarkable service to The Boeing Company—and I will personally always be grateful for his friendship."

Before he was appointed to the federal bench, Luttig was an assistant attorney general and counselor to the attorney general of the United States. From 1982 to 1985, he served as a law clerk to then-Judge Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and afterward was a law clerk and special assistant to the chief justice of the United States.