More companies began announcing they had named new top lawyers throughout May, a noticeable trend after April saw a dismal amount of general counsel appointments amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The widespread impact of how the pandemic has influenced job growth in the legal industry has yet to be determined, but it appears more companies revealed new legal leaders, some promoting lawyers who already worked in their legal departments. Last month, the legal industry lost 64,000 jobs in April, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May's statistics should come out early June.

As myriad corporate legal departments are still functioning under work-from-home policies, companies such as music streamer Spotify, luxury retailer TheRealReal Inc., financial technology firm Robinhood and payment mobile app Branch Messenger Inc. appointed general counsel. Many companies from New York Life Insurance Co. to FirstEnergy Corp. to Boeing promoted top lawyers from within the legal department.

The 2019 trend of top lawyers taking nonlegal executive roles made a comeback this month. The chief legal officer of HSBC announced plans to become CEO at the Facebook Inc.-affiliated cryptocurrency initiative Libra Association, which also named a former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network director to the general counsel post. The United Airlines chief administrative officer, who had assumed the interim CEO role while general counsel in 2015, was promoted to company president. Rotisserie chain Boston Market also promoted its general counsel to president.

May also saw legal departments experience cuts with the possibility of hard-hit industries letting go of more employees in the coming weeks. Uber Technologies Inc. had 6,000 layoffs since the pandemic started, and the last round especially hit the legal staff. Uber has set up a directory showcasing ex-employees to prospective employers. So far, there are about 20 former legal department members.

Colin Levy, the former Salary.com general counsel, shared the first week of May that the "cruel business calculus" of the coronavirus-induced economic climate took his job away. He later shared his tips on staying resilient while unemployed as an in-house counsel.

Below are more top lawyer announcements that occurred this month.

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Aviation

San Francisco-based Vx Capital Partners, an equipment leasing firm serving airlines, promoted Bashir Agah to general counsel. 

Before joining Vx in 2013 as corporate counsel, Agah held the position of corporate attorney at ORIX Aviation Systems Ltd. and Mesa Air Group Inc. He previously was counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright.

"I am delighted for this opportunity to serve Vx in a more strategic role, and grateful to Bob [Brown, founding partner] and Will [Hudson, Vx president] for their continued faith in me," Agah said in a statement. "The Vx team has built a successful platform, and I look forward to supporting our future endeavors and expansion."

He earned his law degree from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law.

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Business

1WorldSync Inc., a product content solutions provider in Chicago, added Jeremy Holbrook as general counsel.

Holbrook previously served as deputy general counsel at Sears Holdings Corp.

"I'm thrilled to be with 1WorldSync as we continue expanding our customer base and industry reach," Holbrook said in a press release. "I look forward to strengthening and refining our internal legal services to meet those expanding needs."

He received his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. 

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Education

The University of Colorado in Denver named José Padilla as university vice president, general counsel and secretary of the board of regents.

Padilla, now vice president, general counsel and secretary at DePaul University in Chicago, will begin his new job July 6. He replaces Patrick O'Rourke, who left in February to become interim chief operating officer of the University of Colorado Boulder campus.

Since 2005, Padilla has been the head lawyer at DePaul. Before education, he was the assistant commissioner for congressional and public affairs at the U.S. Customs Service under the Clinton administration. He also served as a legislative assistant for U.S. Sens. Lloyd Bentsen and Robert Krueger and sat on the national board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education.

"I am impressed by the quality of the university's legal operations and I look forward to working with the Board of Regents and president [Mark] Kennedy to continue CU's progress, as well as to support the university's efforts to navigate the current pandemic crisis," Padilla said in the press release. "Every day, I hope to earn my seat at the table of these wise and dedicated university leaders."

He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan.

The University of Alaska promoted Matthew Cooper to general counsel. Cooper's appointment follows the impending June retirement of the university's current general counsel Michael Hostina. 

Cooper joined the university in December 2011 as associate general counsel. Before, he worked at the law firm Guess & Rudd in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Upon his general counsel appointment, he stepped down as presiding officer of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly but plans to remain an assembly member.

"I look forward to working more closely with the board of regents, president [Jim] Johnsen and the university chancellors as we navigate these difficult and trying times," Cooper said in a press release. "I am dedicated to helping the university meet the needs of Alaska's diverse peoples, industries and future opportunities."

He graduated from the University of Washington School of Law.

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Energy

Murphy Oil Corp. promoted E. Ted Botner to be senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Formerly the vice president of law and corporate secretary, Botner succeeds Walter K. Compton, executive vice president and general counsel, who will retire in June. 

Botner joined El Dorado, Arkansas-based Murphy Oil in 2001 as an attorney. Over his 19-year tenure, he has held several positions with increasing responsibilities in the U.S. and Malaysia. 

He earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

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Entertainment

Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC promoted Peter Brodsky to general counsel and executive vice president of business affairs. 

Prior to his promotion, Brodsky held the position of executive vice president of business affairs at Sony/ATV since 2007. The company said in a media release that Brodsky played a lead role in Sony's acquisition of EMI Music Publishing in 2018. He previously worked at BMG Music Publishing, where he led BMG's business and legal affairs department. He started his legal career at White & Case in New York.

"I am thrilled to continue working with Jon and the entire team at Sony/ATV as we build a new chapter for this great company," Brodsky, who's based in New York, said in the release. "It is truly an honor to represent our unparalleled songwriters and the world's greatest collection of songs."

He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School. 

Lawrence C. Hinkle II shared on LinkedIn that he is the new general counsel and chief operating officer at UrbanflixTV, a streaming service under Vimeo OTT Solutions Inc. that launched May 1. He is based in Los Angeles.

Hinkle most recently was a partner in the entertainment litigation group at Fox Rothschild. His other law firm includes stints at Blank Rome and Dreier Stein & Kahn. 

"After 25 years of representing clients in the entertainment industry, I am excited and proud to join UrbanflixTV as COO and general counsel," Hinkle wrote in his post. "I was drawn to this opportunity because the mission of this new streaming service is to be a champion of our culture by showcasing the diverse world around us both in front of and behind the camera."

He earned his law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law. 

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Finance

Paine Schwartz Partners, a sustainable food chain investor, hired Renata Malavazzi as general counsel and chief compliance officer.

From 2011 to 2020, Malavazzi was a partner in the private equity team at Kirkland & Ellis in New York. Prior to that, she was an associate at Brazilian law firm Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados.

"I have long respected the team at Paine Schwartz, and it is an honor to join the firm as general counsel and chief compliance officer," she said in a statement. "I look forward to supporting the firm's growth and success through its focus on sustainable food chain investing."

Malavazzi holds a juris doctor from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and a master of laws degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

Menlo Park, California-based Venture capital firm Menlo Ventures tweeted it named Deborah Carrillo as general counsel. 

Carrillo most recently was a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in San Francisco. While at Pillsbury, she represented Menlo Ventures as outside counsel on its portfolio investments.

She earned her juris doctor from UC Berkeley School of Law.

PineBridge Investments, a private global asset manager in New York, promoted Eric Smith to general counsel.

Most recently deputy general counsel, Smith joined PineBridge six years ago. Prior to PineBridge, he was general counsel at an India-focused real estate and private equity fund manager. He began his legal career at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. 

Smith holds a juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.

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Health

Surmodics Inc., a provider of medical device and in vitro diagnostic technologies, hired Gordon Weber as senior vice president of legal, general counsel and secretary.

Prior to joining Surmodics in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Weber served as vice president and general counsel at CHF Solutions Inc. He was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Vascular Solutions Inc. from 2013 to 2017. Before Vascular Solutions, he served as associate general counsel at Smiths Medical from 2010 to 2013. He also spent 13 years at Faegre & Benson, now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.

Weber earned his juris doctor from William Mitchell College of Law.

Eskaton, a Sacramento, California-based nonprofit providing senior living and care facilities throughout Northern California, named Thomas M. Garberson general counsel.

Garberson was previously a partner in the law firm Low McKinley Baleria & Salenko in Sacramento, where he dealt primarily with medical malpractice and long-term care defense.

He is a graduate of the University of California Davis School of Law. 

Personalis Inc., a Menlo Park, California-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in advanced genomics for cancer, appointed Stephen Moore as general counsel.

Moore joins Personalis after a decade at Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. as general counsel. Prior to Pacific Biosciences, he was general counsel at Navigenics Inc., a consumer genomics company later acquired by Life Technologies Corp., now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to Navigenics, he served as an associate general counsel at DNA microarray pioneer Affymetrix, also later acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Moore said in the press release that he looks forward to leveraging his experience working in genomics to help Personalis meets its goals.

"I am enthusiastic to take part in the large-scale application of that vision to human health as Personalis grows its commercial operations and seeks to expand its market presence in immuno-oncology and potentially other disease areas, and in population-sized genome sequencing projects such as the VA MVP," he added.

Moore holds a law degree from the UC Davis School of Law.

Imara Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to treat rare inherited genetic hemoglobin disorders, appointed Stephen M. Migausky in a new role as senior vice president of legal and general counsel.

Prior to joining Boston-based Imara, Migausky served as general counsel at ArQule Inc., where he served as a key adviser in the company's acquisition by Merck for $2.7 billion. Previously, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. He began his legal career at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. 

"I have been impressed with the strength of Imara's corporate strategy and the leadership team's vision for bringing potentially disease-modifying therapies to those with blood disorders," said Migausky in a statement. "I am honored to join Imara at this pivotal point in the company's evolution as a newly public company."

Migausky earned a juris doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Stratum Health System, the parent company of Tidewell Hospice in Sarasota, Florida, added Alan Weldy as chief legal and compliance officer. 

Weldy served 12 years as general counsel, vice president of human resources and compliance at Goshen Health, formerly known as Indiana University Health Goshen, in Goshen, Indiana. He spent 16 years with the firm Yoder Ainlay Ulmer and Buckingham, including 10 years as partner. He also was an adjunct professor and associate professor of business at Goshen College, his undergraduate alma mater.

"It has been my privilege to serve for the past 12 years as general legal counsel and compliance officer in a mission-based health system located in Northern Indiana. Even 1,100 miles away I knew of Stratum Health/Tidewell from friends whose family members were cared for by its incredible staff and volunteers," Weldy said in the announcement. He said the "compassion, enthusiasm and sense of mission" stood out to him during the interview process. 

Weldy earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his MBA degree from Indiana University.

Cortexyme Inc., a South San Francisco biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases, tapped Caryn McDowell to be the company's first chief legal and administrative officer and corporate secretary.

McDowell most recently served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary from Revance Inc. She previously served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at Cytokinetics Inc. and as vice president, deputy general counsel at InterMune Inc., where she was instrumental to the company's acquisition by Roche. She also held other in-house legal roles at Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Affymax Inc., Genentech Inc. and Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to her in-house career, she served in roles at the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

"With a successful initial public offering, a Phase 2/3 clinical trial well underway, and multiple research publications over the past year, it's an exciting time to join the Cortexyme team," said McDowell in the announcement. "I'm thrilled to work with this extraordinary group of experts working to better understand and develop therapies against degenerative diseases that present serious unmet medical needs."

She obtained her juris doctor from the Boston University School of Law.

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Insurance

Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America in New York hired Kermitt Brooks as executive vice president and general counsel. He succeeds Eric Dinallo, who left Guardian in February.

Brooks joins Guardian from AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co., where he was senior executive director and general counsel since June 2019. He joined the AXA Equitable in 2010 and held several senior legal roles, including deputy general counsel, associate general counsel, and head of the insurance practice group. He was also a first deputy superintendent at the New York State Insurance Department and deputy attorney general of operations at New York State Office of the Attorney General.  

Brooks is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. 

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Investigations

CoventBridge Group Ltd., a Jacksonville, Florida-based global investigative services agency, named Robin R. Rogers as general counsel. She succeeds Kate Bongiovanni, who is now the general counsel of Wounded Warrior Project, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

Rogers joins CoventBridge from being senior legal counsel at workforce solutions company The Adecco Group. 

"I am both honored and eager to begin the next chapter of my career serving as general counsel for CoventBridge Group, a company that I've had my eye on for the past two years," Rogers said in a statement. "I look forward to working with an esteemed group of colleagues to push the bar higher in providing an exceptional experience to our employees and clients around the globe."

She is a graduate of the Florida Coastal School of Law.

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Manufacturing

Specialty materials company Ashland Global Holdings Inc. promoted Yvonne Winkler von Mohrenfels to general counsel and secretary. She will start her new position Jan. 1, 2021, but is serving as deputy general counsel during the transition period.

Peter J. Ganz, the current senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, and chief legal and compliance officer, plans to retire at the end of the year.

Winkler von Mohrenfels joined Wilmington, Delaware-based Ashland in 2009. Before Ashland, she served as associate general counsel at International Specialty Products Inc., which was acquired by Ashland, according to her LinkedIn profile. She became a senior manager of legal at Bayer AG after she held the same position at Berlex Laboratories Inc., which was acquired by Bayer. In Berlin, she served as in-house counsel at the pharmaceutical company Schering Aktiengesellschaft, another Bayer acquisition, and chemical company BASF.

She graduated from New York University School of Law. 

Ganz joined Ashland in 2011. Prior to Ashland, Ganz was a partner with Sedgwick law firm in Newark, New Jersey. From 2005 to 2010, he served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Foster Wheeler AG, an engineering corporation. Previously, he was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of G-I Holdings Inc. and of its affiliate International Specialty Products Inc. in Wayne, New Jersey. Earlier in his career, Ganz practiced litigation for law firms McCarter & English in Newark and Kramer, Levin, Nessen, Kamin & Frankel in New York. He began his legal career serving a federal judicial clerkship with the Hon. Anne E. Thompson in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

He graduated from Harvard Law School.

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Real Estate

Ryan Companies US Inc. in Minneapolis named Laura Graf chief legal officer and corporate assistant secretary.  

Graf recently was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney.

She earned her juris doctor at William Mitchell College of Law.

Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. in Salt Lake City promoted Richard J. Armstrong to executive vice president and general counsel. He succeeds Darryl Lee, who plans to retire after 20 years at the company. 

Armstrong previously was the vice president and associate general counsel since 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. He worked at law firms Kirton McConkie, Wood Jenkins, and Stirba & Hathaway. 

"I'm thrilled to be joining PRMI's executive leadership team," said Armstrong in a press release. "I've had the privilege of representing PRMI as in-house and outside counsel for a number of years. I'm honored to succeed Darryl, whom I've worked with for more than a decade. I'm excited for the opportunity to work at this level with such a phenomenal company."

He received his juris doctor from University of Idaho. 

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Sports

Betsy Philpott is the new vice president and general counsel for the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals. She succeeds Damon Jones, who is now of counsel in the sports practice group at Covington & Burling.

Philpott most recently was the deputy general counsel at the Nationals and started with the Major League Baseball team in 2014 as a legal affairs specialist, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously was a law clerk with the Major League Soccer Players Union. She's also a former associate with McDermott Will & Emery and litigation legal assistant with Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

She has a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School and a master's degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University.

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Staffing

Oyster, a hiring model startup, hired Miranda Zolot as general counsel. She is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to her LinkedIn profile, though the company claims a base in London and San Francisco. 

Zolot joins Oyster from serving as vice president and associate general counsel at human resources company TriNet Group Inc. She also was a senior litigation counsel at Family Dollar Stores Inc. 

"My passion is helping enable others to do what they love—and as a remote employee myself, I'm very excited to work with Oyster to bring their vision of global remote work enablement to life," said Zolot in the announcement. "Through Oyster's platform, I hope to make it easier for talented workers and expanding companies to succeed together by unlocking the employment laws of the world."

She earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law.

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Technology

Cyient, a leading provider of technology services and solutions, named Felice Gray-Kemp to the newly created role of senior vice president and global general counsel. She is based in Connecticut, according to her LinkedIn profile, for the Hyderabad, India, company. 

Before joining Cyient, Gray-Kemp was chief legal officer and chief administrative officer at Unicorns LLC, a firm she founded to support startups and private equity-owned businesses. She has also held global leadership positions at multinational companies such as United Technologies Corp., now Raytheon Technologies; Honeywell International Inc.; and The Lego Group. 

Gray-Kemp holds a juris doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a graduate degree in taxation from Boston University School of Law. 

Syniti, a Boston-based global data solution provider, appointed Janet Mesrobian to senior vice president and general counsel. 

Mesrobian previously held leadership positions at Pegasystems Inc. and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. 

"I am excited to join Syniti. I am eager to dive in and provide legal and governance leadership that will help guide and secure the organization's global footprint," said Mesrobian in a media release. "I hope to bring my global experience, strategic perspective and legal solutions to further Syniti's journey as a leader in data and in unlocking their customers and partners power of data."

She received her law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

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