For the first full month of shelter-in-place and work-from-home orders for millions of U.S. residents, April saw significantly fewer general counsel announcements as companies navigate through the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. 

March had a healthy number of new top lawyers at the height of spring hiring, but most of those general counsel and chief legal officers received their job offers prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic that has spurred mandated social distancing orders across the country and hurt the year's economic outlook for many businesses. While companies reel from the impact of COVID-19, many executives, including top lawyers, have been taking pay cuts to keep corporate operations afloat.

Corporate Counsel interviewed several top lawyers, such as the Kraken chief legal officer and the Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. deputy general counsel, who discussed their challenges of stepping into their positions within the last month. The new Hanover Insurance Group Inc. GC transitioned into his role over the past few months that made moving operations to virtual seamless. Sempra Energy named two co-deputy GCs in place of its GC, who started last year, in what appeared to be a sudden departure amid the public health crisis. 

A few notable moves include new GCs at crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, whose new GC comes from ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc., and language app provider Duolingo Inc., which hired its first top lawyer. Kickstarter didn't make a formal statement as the incoming GC made the announcement on LinkedIn, showing some companies may wait until operations return to a more normal pace to reveal their newest legal executives.

Other moves include the compliance arms at Comcast Corp. and Boeing Co. changing legal hands as companies pay close attention to that part of their legal departments during the pandemic to avoid any government trouble down the road. Government agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and New York State Department of Financial Services hired top lawyers with in-house federal experience. 

Below are other top lawyer announcements that were made this month.

Cannabis

Leafline Industries LLC named Mitchel Chargo as general counsel and executive vice president in early March. The legal medical cannabis company based in Minneapolis made the announcement at the end of April.

With more than 25 years of experience as a private practice attorney, Chargo worked for two large law firms in Minnesota and owned his own law firm which had offices in six states. 

"I am thrilled to join Leafline's executive team at this very exciting stage in the company's evolution," said Chargo in the announcement. "The Leafline portfolio is well-positioned to bring high-quality and reliable health care solutions to patients throughout the State of Minnesota, as well as innovative health and wellness products, and I look forward to contributing to the company's continued growth."

He graduated from William Mitchell College of Law, now known as the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Employment

Melissa Zepeda, vice president of compliance and general counsel at Alliance Background LLC.

Alliance Background LLC, an employment and volunteer background screening service provider, appointed Melissa Zepeda as vice president of compliance and general counsel. 

Zepeda joins the Largo, Florida-based Alliance Background from Lincare Holdings Inc., where she served as in-house counsel for the past seven years. 

"The executive team at Alliance has a promising and aggressive growth plan to take the company into the next decade," Zepeda said in the announcement. "With my experience working at national corporations, I will help Alliance achieve its goals and set the standard for excellence in compliance."

Zepeda is a graduate of Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. 

Energy

Abby Yates assumed the role of executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Delek US Holdings Inc. She replaces Regina Jones, who will leave Delek for other opportunities after the transition period. 

For six years, Yates was general counsel, chief compliance counsel and senior vice president of human resources at EthosEnergy, a joint venture between Siemens and Wood Group. Prior to EthosEnergy, Yates spent a decade working within Wood Group, first as senior litigation counsel and then as divisional counsel to the gas turbine services division. She worked in-house at oil company Schlumberger in Houston. Her private practice experience includes Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia and Bracewell in Houston.

Yates received her law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law.

Xcel Energy Inc. in Minneapolis named Amanda Rome executive vice president and general counsel. She starts June 1, replacing Scott Wilensky, who has held the position since 2011 and been at the company for 21 years,. Wilensky plans to retire June 30 to help with the transition.

Joining the company five years ago, Rome currently serves as vice president and deputy general counsel for the regulatory and commercial groups at Xcel Energy. Prior to Xcel Energy, Rome spent 10 years in private practice at Winston and Strawn and Faegre Baker Daniels.

She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Entertainment

SoundExchange Inc. in D.C. promoted Colin Rushing to chief legal officer. The royalty solutions provider for sound recordings and publishing added that Rushing will be based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rushing has served as SoundExchange's senior vice president and general counsel since 2014. In this position, the company said he helped secure a $150 million settlement with SiriusXM and a more than 40% increase in satellite radio rates before the Copyright Royalty Board. He joined SoundExchange in the role of senior counsel for licensing and enforcement. Before joining SoundExchange, Rushing practiced intellectual property and media law as an attorney at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

"SoundExchange is committed to maximizing the value of music, and to empowering music creators to thrive in a constantly shifting environment," Rushing said in a media release. "I'm proud to be a part of this team and excited to advance SoundExchange's mission."

He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Skydance Media in Santa Monica, California, named Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon general counsel and elevated Jun Oh to president of global business and legal affairs. McKinnon is stepping into a newly created role on the heels of Skydance's acquisition of Ilion Studios in Madrid earlier this month.

McKinnon joins Skydance from VICE Media, where she served as senior vice presiden  and deputy general counsel. Prior to VICE, she was vice president, legal and business affairs for Whistle Sports. She started her career at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York.

She received her Bachelor of Laws degree from McGill University.

Oh joined Skydance in 2018 as head of theatrical and interactive business and legal affairs. According to Skydance, he has been key to all deals for the company's film slate and recent $275 million equity partnership deal with RedBird Capital and CJ ENM. Prior to Skydance, he served as president of business and legal affairs for Global Road Entertainment. Oh had a long career at Warner Bros. Entertainment, where he rose to senior vice president of business affairs of Warner Bros. Pictures. He was previously head of business and legal affairs for Warner Independent Pictures. His entertainment career started at The Walt Disney Co. in the business and legal affairs group.

He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Finance

New York private equity investment firm Harvest Partners LP named Jamie Toothman as general counsel and chief compliance officer. 

Prior to Harvest, Toothman was a senior vice president at Oaktree Capital Management L.P. She began her legal career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, focusing on private and public acquisitions, capital markets and other corporate transactions.

"I am excited to join the Harvest team and look forward to working with the firm in supporting its continued success and commitment to excellence and integrity," Toothman said in a statement. 

She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.

Jeremy Cali is the new general counsel at Capital Collection Management, a provider of first-party and third-party collections, debt purchasing and litigation services. 

Prior to joining the Syracuse, New York-based company, Cali held the role of staff attorney at Bankers Healthcare Group Inc. Cali also spent 12 years as a prosecutor in the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office in Syracuse, serving as the chief of the Special Victims Bureau.

He earned his Juris Doctor from New England School of Law. 

Frisco, Texas-based financial technology startup Meritize Lending LLC promoted Daniel Chang to general counsel and chief compliance officer. Chang, who joined the company in March 2019, previously was chief compliance officer and senior counsel.

Prior to Meritize, he served as the vice president and chief compliance officer for marketplace lending at Cross River Bank Inc. He also previously served as director of compliance and associate general counsel for Avant Inc., a leading online lending platform and software provider. 

"Education consumers too often face serious uncertainty when it comes to financing their education, often because of backward-looking measures that fail to account for accomplishments in education, work and service used to evaluate credit," Chang said in a press release. "In today's uncertain labor market, it has never been more urgent for us to rethink the historic models we've used to finance education and training. This work is critical to helping connect displaced talent with economic opportunity."  

Chang received his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.

Health

ORIC Pharmaceuticals Inc., a South San Francisco clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, named Christian V. Kuhlen as general counsel.

Most recently, Kuhlen served as general counsel and secretary for Synthorx Inc., where he led the legal aspects of its initial public offering and advised on the company's acquisition by Sanofi. Prior to Synthorx, Kuhlen was general counsel at Ignyta, where he coordinated two public financings and advised on the company's acquisition by Roche. Before Ignyta, Kuhlen served as general counsel of Genoptix Inc., where he led the legal function from its initial public offering to its acquisition by Novartis. Prior to Genoptix, he was an attorney at Cooley. 

"I am delighted and honored to join ORIC at this pivotal time in the company's history," said Kuhlen in the press release. "I look forward to working again with Jacob and with ORIC's talented and passionate team to advance its pipeline of novel therapies aimed at overcoming resistance in cancer."

Kuhlen holds law and medical degrees from the University of Southern California.

OneShare Health LLC, a Christian-based health care sharing ministry based in Irving, Texas, welcomed Buddy Combs as chief compliance officer and general counsel.

Combs most recently served eight years at the Oklahoma Insurance Department as first deputy commissioner and chief of staff.

"I think my combination of regulatory, legislative affairs and legal experience is unique," said Combs in the press release. "I am able to view issues through both a regulatory and legal lens to understand not only what the right legal requirements are but also what insurance regulators across the country will think, how they approach issues, and how their staff functions."

Combs is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. 

Zogenix Inc., an Emeryville, California-based global pharmaceutical company developing rare disease therapies, appointed Shawnte M. Mitchell to the new role of executive vice president, general counsel and secretary.

Mitchell joins Zogenix from Aptevo Therapeutics, where she was most recently senior vice president, general counsel and corporate affairs. Prior to Aptevo, Mitchell was vice president, associate general counsel and assistant secretary at biopharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions. She started her legal career as an associate at Ropes & Gray. 

"I'm excited to join Zogenix," Mitchell said in a press release. "The company's commitment to providing new therapies for patients with rare diseases is inspiring, and I'm thrilled to join an executive team deeply committed both to this mission and to the company's continued success."

Mitchell received a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School.

Repertoire Immune Medicines, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the immune system, added Andrea DiFabio as executive vice president, chief legal and corporate administration officer. DiFabio worked with Repertoire's CEO, John Cox, during her tenure at previous companies. 

DiFabio joins the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Repertoire from Codiak BioSciences, where she served as chief legal officer and secretary. Prior to Codiak, she served as executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary at Bioverativ, where she worked with Cox and became integral in guiding the company through its acquisition by Sanofi. She held multiple positions across 11 years at Biogen, where she also worked with Cox as Bioverativ was a spinoff of Biogen. Previously, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Parexel International. She began her career as a litigator for two Boston-area law firms. 

DiFabio earned a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law.

Insurance

Seattle-based medical professional liability insurer Physicians Insurance hired Mark Lewington as general counsel.

Lewington was the first general counsel for Moneytree Inc., where he spent 16 years overseeing the legal department. Prior to Moneytree, he was an attorney at Graham & Dunn from 1985 until 2003. He became a law clerk to Justice Vernon R. Pearson of the Washington Supreme Court when he arrived in the U.S. after starting his legal career in New Zealand as an academic in the law faculty at the University of Canterbury.

Manufacturing

Footprint, a Gilbert, Arizona, company focused on sustainable technology alternatives to plastics, appointed Steve Burdumy as chief legal officer. 

Burdumy joins Footprint from Transformative Pharmaceutical Solutions, where he was executive vice president and chief operating officer. Prior to Transformative, he was a partner in the corporate and securities practice group of Drinker Biddle & Reath. 

"It is an exciting time to be joining Footprint, as they disrupt the food packaging industry through innovative material science engineering," Burdumy said in a press release. "I look forward to navigating and protecting Footprint's global growth, and significant IP portfolio."

He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco.

Nonprofit

Stephanie Shack, chief legal officer at Enterprise Community Partners Inc.

Enterprise Community Partners Inc., a housing nonprofit organization based in Columbia, Maryland, promoted Stephanie Shack as its first-ever chief legal officer. Shack most recently held the senior vice president role.

Shack steps into the top lawyer role as Enterprise recently combined the legal departments of Enterprise Community Investment and Enterprise Community Partners into one. Shack joined Enterprise in 2017 as senior vice president and general counsel for Enterprise Community Investment. Prior to this role, she was senior vice president, associate general counsel and assistant secretary with Corporate Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust. Previously, she worked at the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation. Her legal experience includes working at DLA Piper and the office of U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Dougherty.

"For the past three years, I have had the privilege of working alongside highly intelligent, motivated and compassionate colleagues who are fully invested in the work we do," said Shack in a media release. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead our legal team and support Enterprise's work in communities nationwide."

Slack is a graduate of Emory University School of Law.

Staffing

PPT Solutions, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based provider of customer experience and business optimization solutions, added Kathryn L. Martin as vice president of human resources and general counsel. 

Most recently, Martin was director of human resources for Limco Airepair Inc. Earlier in her career, she served in key leadership positions at Applied-Cleveland Holdings, Miratech Group and Precision Castparts Corp. 

"I am genuinely thrilled to join the PPT Solutions family at a time when the company is poised to build upon the momentum of the past three years," Martin said in the company's statement. "It is exciting to be a member of an organization committed to creating transformational change in a competitive marketplace by remaining true to its core culture and values and fueled by a passion for our people, the success of our clients and delivering innovative solutions to ever-evolving customer expectations."

In addition to holding a Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University School of Law, Martin has an Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science degree in accounting.

Technology

Dennis Wiessner, general counsel at Spaceflight Industries.

Dennis Wiessner is the new general counsel at Spaceflight Industries in Seattle. The company said in its blog post that Wiessner, who is based in Pennsylvania, will join the company in person after "the COVID-19 dust settles." Seattle was one of the earliest U.S. novel coronavirus hotspots. 

Wiessner is arriving from a stint as vice president and general counsel, chief compliance and ethics officer and secretary of the Sea Launch Co. LLC, when it was an international joint venture of The Boeing Co. Prior to Sea Launch, Wiessner worked for the Lockheed Martin Corp. spinoff Astrolink LLC. He also was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of two aviation-based companies: Italian-based Leonardo Company SpA's Philadelphia helicopter division subsidiary and the French-based Thales Group SA's avionics business unit in California. 

"This is an ideal career opportunity for me, and I'm really looking forward to contributing to the Spaceflight mission of helping increase access to space for all," said Wiessner in the post. "The smallsat rideshare industry and Spaceflight's position in it are both poised for significant growth, and I couldn't be more excited to join the team at this critical inflection point. My career has been largely spent helping aerospace organizations navigate the legal landscape, and I'm fortunate for the opportunity to do that now with Spaceflight."

He received his Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.

Transportation

Gerald A. Reynolds was named chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration. He serves as the principal legal adviser to the D.C. agency's administrator and oversees legal matters within a legal department comprised of nearly 50 attorneys and staff.  

Prior to joining FRA, Reynolds served as a top legal expert for three major utility companies, including five years as general counsel, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary for a large Kentucky utility.  

In 2004, he was appointed chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, a position he held until 2010. He also held other notable federal appointments, including deputy associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. 

Reynolds received his law degree from Boston University School of Law.