The beginning of midyear hiring and the end of the second fiscal quarter brought out more announcements on the top lawyers appointed this month and earlier this year.

As the COVID-19 pandemic dampened business outlooks, it seemed more companies opted to delay the job start time of their new general counsels and chief legal officers or allowed them to work mostly in a remote location—without public notification. Now with the economy opening up, albeit some places like California and Texas closing again over the increase in the novel coronavirus cases, companies look more comfortable to let the public know about a new legal leader.

In-house hiring was on an upward trend last month, according to legal recruiters, despite the United States officially entering a recession.

Usually the health field boasts more general counsel appointments compared to other fields due to biopharmaceutical companies, some now busy developing a vaccine for COVID-19, making their announcements public more on a regular basis. Also with COVID-19, hospitals and health care systems are posting for more contract attorneys to assist with the mounds of contracts and possibly soon litigation fallout from the coronavirus impact.

Below are many of the top lawyer announcements from June.

Education

Shari F. Crittendon has been appointed the chief legal officer of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Crittendon began serving in her new role remotely Monday and will start working in-person on campus Aug. 1.

Most recently, Crittendon served as senior corporate counsel and director of outreach and compliance for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America. Previously, Crittendon was vice president, general counsel and secretary of the corporation of the United Negro College Fund, known as UNCF. Earlier in her career, Crittendon was assistant general counsel at Morgan State University.

"I am delighted to join the Kansas State University community and support its 2025 vision to be recognized as a premier, student-centered, public research university fulfilling its land-grant mission," Crittendon said in the announcement. "I look forward to collaborating with the president, provost, senior leadership and the outstanding staff in the Office of General Counsel."

Crittendon earned her law degree from the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland.

Based in Baltimore, higher education provider Laureate Education Inc. promoted Rick Sinkfield to chief legal officer. Sinkfield will assume his new role July 17 from Victoria Silbey, who has held the position since September 2017.

Sinkfield previously served as Laureate's senior vice president and assistant general counsel of Latin America. He has worked at Laureate for almost 16 years, serving as regional general counsel for Brazil for five years.

"I am thrilled to join Laureate's Executive Leadership Team and look forward to advising the company on key legal issues, corporate governance and compliance," Sinkfield said in the news release.

He completed his Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School.

Energy

Sterling Spainhour, senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer of Georgia Power. Photo: Georgia Power

Sterling Spainhour will become senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Georgia Power on Wednesday, the Atlanta-based electric utility announced.

Spainhour currently serves as senior vice president and general counsel for partner utility Southern Company Services and will remain in the role.

He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and Fuqua School of Business.

Essential Utilities Inc. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, named Mike Turzai general counsel for Peoples, the natural gas division of Essential Utilities headquartered in Pittsburgh. Turzai will report to Christopher Luning, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for Essential Utilities.

Mike Turzai, general counsel for Peoples Gas

Turzai spent 10 terms serving the 28th Legislative District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, including three terms as Speaker of the House.

"Peoples has been providing natural gas service to families in western Pennsylvania for more than 130 years. As a native of western Pennsylvania, I am familiar with the company, the dedication of its employees and its commitment to our region," said Turzai in a media release. "I am honored to join the Peoples team and help continue the company's legacy as a strong local employer, community partner and driver of economic development."

He earned his Juris Doctor from Duke University.

Southwestern Energy Co. promoted Chris Lacy to vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. John Ale, the former general counsel and corporate secretary, has retired, according to the company.

Lacy was associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary, a position he assumed in 2017. He has been with the Spring, Texas-based company since 2014 when he joined as a senior attorney.

He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center.

Entertainment

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. named Scott Packman executive vice president and general counsel. He starts July 1.

Packman most recently served as senior executive vice president, general counsel, chief strategy officer and head of business affairs for Sonar Entertainment, an independent TV studio and distributor. He had a 14-year career at MGM Holdings/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he served as general counsel and secretary for 12 years.

"I am excited to be joining MSG Entertainment and look forward to working with the Company's senior management team and the entire Legal department to advance the Company's key legal and business priorities," he said in a statement.

Packman earned a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Adolpho Birch III is the new senior vice president of business affairs and chief legal officer of the Nashville, Tennessee-based NFL team Tennessee Titans. Dan Werly has been hired as the team's new general counsel.

Birch most recently served as senior vice president of  labor policy and league affairs for the National Football League. A Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, he will begin his new role with the team in July.

Werly joins the Titans after spending a year as the general counsel for Nashville Soccer Club. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Finance

Christopher Smith has taken the general counsel post at Kushner Cos., the New York real estate developer owned by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to media reports.

Smith comes to Kushner Cos. from East End Capital, where he was managing director. He was the chief transactions officer at Penzance, the Washington, D.C., real estate operator. Prior to Penzance, he was a partner at CityView, the Los Angeles-based opportunity fund.

He received his law degree from the NYU School of Law.

BEB Capital in Port Washington, New York, appointed Emily Wolf to general counsel. She succeeds Keyvan Ghaytanchi, the chief operating officer who filled the interim general counsel role.

She most recently served as general counsel at Kushner Cos. for the last three and a half years.

"I'm delighted to have joined a long-established owner/developer just as the firm is undertaking exciting new ventures, such as bridge lending, high-rise multifamily development in Manhattan, and third-party management," Wolf said in the announcement. "We're looking forward to a period of dynamic growth."

She obtained her Juris Doctor from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Happy Money, a financial technology company in Tustin, California, added Jason Altieri as general counsel and chief compliance officer.

He most recently served as general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Lending Club.

"Happy Money's strong, dedicated team, along with Scott's vision to reorient the consumer relationship so that it's not focused on debt but on building overall financial wellness drove my decision to join the team," said Altieri in a statement. "Happy Money is thoughtfully expanding access to financial services by eliminating people's debt and creating a network of aligned credit union partners, doing away with the need for antiquated models that stunt people's financial development."

He received a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based Ceteris Portfolio Services LLC welcomed Daniel J. McCusker as general counsel.

The company said in a media release that McCusker has held legal and compliance leadership roles in the account receivables management field over the last 20 years.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law.

GAMCO Investors Inc. in Rye, New York, named Peter D. Goldstein as general counsel of Gabelli Funds. This will be his third stint with the company after previously serving as the director of regulatory affairs at GAMCO and associate general counsel of GAMCO Investors. He will start in his new role in mid-July.

After serving as the director of regulatory affairs at GAMCO, Goldstein most recently served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer at Buckingham Capital Management since December 2011. He was the associate general counsel of GAMCO Investors from 1997 through 2000 before joining Goldman Sachs in 2000.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to rejoin the firm and to focus my efforts on the mutual fund and closed-end funds group and in particular to work on behalf of the new actively-managed [exchange traded fund] initiative," Goldstein said in a statement.

He is a graduate of Boston College Law School.

TEMPOE LLC, a national retail financial technology firm, and SmartPay Leasing LLC, a provider of no-credit required payment solutions for mobile devices and wireless service plans, welcomed Regan Schmidt as general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Before joining TEMPOE and SmartPay, Schmidt was a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

"TEMPOE and SmartPay are innovation leaders in their industry, and I am thrilled to be leading both the legal and compliance teams as we support the businesses' strategies," said Schmidt in the media release. "This is an exciting opportunity to use my past experience to work with thought leaders as the companies continue to grow."

Regan holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law.

Nav Inc., which provides a free service to access financing and Small Business Administration loans for business owners, added Rebecca Sandberger as vice president of legal and compliance.

Prior to Draper, Utah-based Nav, Sandberger worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Compliance Solutions GmbH, Nature's Sunshine Products Inc., Reckitt Benckiser Group plc and The University of Utah.

She received her law degree from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

Albany, New York-based credit union SEFCU confirmed media reports on LinkedIn that it hired Kendra Rubin as chief legal officer, a new position.

She joins from the SEFCU from New York Credit Union Association, where she was the vice president of governmental affairs.

She is a graduate of Albany Law School.

Health

Axogen Inc., which develops and markets surgical solutions for peripheral nerves, named Brad Ottinger as general counsel and chief compliance officer in a press release. He replaces Greg Freitag, who retired from the position and assumed the role of special counsel during the transition period ending in October.

Prior to joining Alachua, Florida-based Axogen, Ottinger served as vice president, general counsel, chief administrative officer and secretary of MicroPort Orthopedics Inc., a manufacturer of total hip and knee implants.

"I look forward to joining the highly regarded team at Axogen," said Ottinger in the release. "I am impressed with the drive and passion of the people I've met there and look forward to contributing to achieving the company's mission to improve quality of life for patients with peripheral nerve injuries."

Ottinger holds a Juris Doctor from Washington University in St. Louis.

A. Verona Dorch, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services named A. Verona Dorch as its new executive vice president and chief legal officer. Dorch succeeds Cindy Strauss, who is retiring after 36 years as an attorney at the health system and 31 years as its chief legal officer.

Dorch joins Providence from Peabody Energy Corp., where she has served as executive vice president, chief legal officer, head of government affairs and corporate secretary since 2015. Prior to Peabody, she was at Harsco Corp., last serving as chief legal officer, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary.

"I'm honored to join the team at Providence and to be given the opportunity to bring my passion for governance and the law to the Providence family of organizations," said Dorch in the press release. "Having worked in multiple sectors, I am motivated to apply my knowledge and skills to the ever-evolving health care industry. We live in a global and diverse society, and it's important to approach legal and governance matters with an open mind and inclusive point of view. Providence is known for innovation and compassion and I look forward to being part of its lifesaving work."

A Harvard Law School graduate, Dorch will be based in Renton, Washington. Strauss will remain with Providence through the end of the year as an adviser to the CEO.

Athenex Inc., a Buffalo, New York-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing cancer treatment drugs, promoted Teresa Bair to general counsel and senior vice president of administration.

Bair was the senior vice president of legal affairs and administration. She joined Athenex in 2015.

"All of us at Athenex are driven by the prospect of creating new paradigms in the treatment of cancer," Bair said in a statement. "I am excited to take on a new role as Executive Officer and General Counsel as we execute on our mission of bringing innovative cancer treatments to the market and improving health outcomes globally."

She received her law degree from University at Buffalo School of Law.

Acessa Health Inc., a minimally invasive solutions provider for women with symptomatic fibroids, added Alfred Macdaniel as chief strategy officer and general counsel.

Macdaniel is the former chief financial officer, chief compliance officer and general counsel of TVA Medical. Before TVA Medical, he served as chief financial officer and general counsel of Santé Ventures.

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

Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops therapeutics to treat orphan seizure disorders in Radnor, Pennsylvania, hired Martha Manning as vice president, general counsel and secretary.

Manning was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Before Achillion, she was general counsel for ICeutica Inc. She also held top lawyer roles such as chief legal officer at OraPharma Inc.; vice president and general counsel at Sandoz Inc.; and senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Adolor Corp.

She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Boston, named Ben Harshbarger as senior vice president and general counsel.

Harshbarger most recently served as the interim CEO and general counsel at Novelion Therapeutics Inc., the parent company of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. He had served in several legal roles at Aegerion, including as deputy general counsel, acting general counsel and general counsel.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Catabasis team as we work towards making a new treatment option available to the Duchenne community," said Harshbarger in the media release. "Catabasis is preparing for the potential future transition to a commercial organization, and I am excited to join at such an important time."

He holds a law degree from Boston College Law School.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Chicago-based Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. said it promoted Tejal Vakharia to senior vice president and general counsel. Formerly the senior vice president and chief compliance counsel, Vakharia succeeds Brian Farley.

Vakharia was chief compliance counsel of GE Healthcare IT & Performance Solutions for GE Healthcare before joining Allscripts, also a health care information technology solutions provider, in 2011.

Her law degree is from the University of Michigan.

Prevail Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in New York developing gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, appointed Kira Schwartz as the general counsel.

Prior to joining Prevail, Schwartz served as senior vice president, associate general counsel and assistant secretary at Allergan plc, formerly Actavis plc. She had served as vice president, associate general counsel at Actavis during its $70.5 billion acquisition by Allergan.

"Prevail is well-positioned to be a leader in developing transformative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative disorders, and I look forward to joining such a mission-driven team at an important point in the Company's growth and development, with anticipated clinical advancements in the year ahead," said Schwartz in a press release.

She received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Outset Medical Inc., a medical technology company focused on the global dialysis market, hired John Brottem as general counsel.

Brottem joins San Jose, California-based Outset from Omnicell Inc., where he most recently served as vice president and deputy general counsel.

"I am excited about joining Outset; a company that is disrupting the dialysis market and poised for momentous growth," said Brottem in the press release. "I look forward to working with the team at Outset in support of the company's continued success, growth, and commitment to dialysis patients."

He received his Juris Doctor from the University of California Davis School of Law.

Steven B. Bender will become Geisinger Health's chief legal officer Wednesday, according to a company financial update.

Bender comes to Geisinger, a hospital system headquartered in Danville, Pennsylvania, after serving four years as general counsel for George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, the largest independent physician practice in D.C.

He received his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.

Varian Medical Systems Inc. in Palo Alto, California, appointed Michael Hutchinson as senior vice president and chief legal officer, according to a media release. He replaces John Kuo, who retired from the company.

Most recently, Hutchinson served as vice president and adviser to the chairman and CEO at Stryker Corp., where he originally held the post of general counsel, vice president and chief legal officer.

He holds a law degree from George Washington University Law School.

Shields Health Solutions, the largest network of hospital-based specialty pharmacies based in Stoughton, Massachusetts, hired Cindy MacLean as chief legal and compliance officer, the company announced in a press release.

Most recently, she served as general counsel for the U.S. and Canada Commercial at GE Healthcare.

She is a graduate of Columbia Law School.

Hospitality

My Place Hotels of America promoted executive vice president and general counsel Matthew Campbell to chief operating and legal officer. Associate general counsel Adam Altman is now general counsel.

Campbell joined the Aberdeen, South Dakota-based hotel chain as executive vice president and general counsel in 2015. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Juris Doctor and an MBA.

Altman joined the hotel chain as associate general counsel in 2017. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School with a Juris Doctor.

Insurance

Crawford & Co., the Atlanta-based independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions, promoted Tami Stevenson to senior vice president, global general counsel. The company also announced Stevenson will report to Joseph Blanco, the previous general counsel who had been promoted to president earlier this year.

Stevenson has held multiple leadership roles during her 23-year tenure at Crawford.

She is a graduate of St. Thomas University School of Law.

Manufacturing

PlayPower Inc., a Dallas-based manufacturer of outdoor recreational products, recently announced David Starr joined as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary in April.

Starr was most recently vice president, chief compliance officer and chief counsel of litigation, employment and risk at dairy processor and distributor Dean Foods Co.. Prior to Dean Foods, he was the senior vice president and general counsel of The LaSalle Group Inc., a developer and operator of assisted living communities.

He received his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law.

Santa Clara, California-based Applied Materials Inc. hired Teri Little to be senior vice president and chief legal officer. Little will succeed Tom Larkins, senior vice president and general counsel, who will retire after eight years.

Previously, Little served as executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at KLA Corp.

"I am very excited to be joining Applied Materials, the industry leader and a company that I have long admired," said Little in a news release. "I look forward to working alongside Gary, the legal team and groups throughout the company to pursue new opportunities and markets where Applied can bring unique advantages."

She received her Juris Doctor from Stanford University Law School.

Retail

David Howard became senior vice president and general counsel at Tapestry Inc. this month, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Most recently, he was the senior vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary for the New York-based company that owns luxury fashion brands Coach, Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade. He started at the company in 2011 as senior counsel and assistant secretary.

He graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Security

LegalShield, the Ada, Oklahoma-based provider of affordable legal and privacy protection plans, appointed Lori Ann Fox as general counsel. She reports to Keri C. Norris, executive vice president and chief legal officer.

Previously, Fox served as a transactional business consultant for Wolters Kluwer, a global information services company based in the Netherlands.

"We are excited to have Lori Ann join LegalShield and our executive team as we continue to expand our businesses," said Norris in the announcement. "Lori Ann is perfectly qualified with deep corporate experience to lead the legal and compliance teams to drive a coordinated strategy with innovative processes. Lori Ann can build on the solid foundations that our existing legal teams have established."

She received her law degree from Emory University School of Law.

ANSER, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to public service in the fields of national security, homeland security and public safety, named Susan Herlick as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Herlick succeeds Daniel V. Wright, who retired from ANSER in April after a decade with the Falls Church, Virginia, company.

Herlick most recently served as vice president, general counsel and risk management for the North American operations of Keolis SA, a French global leader in operating public transportation systems. She previously served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Orbital Sciences Corp., an aerospace and defense government contractor.

She received her law degree from George Washington University Law School.

Cyber Defense Labs, an information security service provider in Dallas, named Steven Carlotto as general counsel.

Carlotto served 26 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, starting as a special agent in 1989. From 2001 to 2007, he served as the New York Field Office's chief division counsel and compliance and ethics officer. From 1998 to 2001, he served as chief division counsel for the FBI's Newark Field Office.

Staffing

Houston-based G&A Partners, a national professional employer organization and human resources outsourcing company, appointed Stephen Calvert as chief legal officer and general counsel.

"It is a true honor to be selected as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at G&A Partners," Calvert said in the announcement. "The company and culture that CEO Tony Grijalva, and President John Allen, have created together over the past 25-plus years are remarkable and a testament to them as visionary leaders. I look forward to being part of the team that builds on this tremendous foundation and continues to help G&A grow."

He is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center.

Technology

Transit Wireless, a 5G neutral host fiber infrastructure company, named Julia Hanft as general counsel and corporate secretary.

Prior to Transit Wireless in New York, Hanft served as executive vice president and general counsel for Globecomm Systems Inc. Previously, she was a contracts manager for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

She holds a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law.

API Technologies Corp., a provider of high-performance radio frequency and microwave signal conditioning and electromagnetic spectrum management solutions, named Donald E. Walther to the newly created position of general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Walther joins Marlborough, Massachusetts-based APITech from TopBuild Corp., where he served as general counsel and secretary. Prior to joining TopBuild, he served as general counsel for both Esterline Corp., a supplier to the aerospace and defense industries, and The Heico Cos. LLC, a parent holding company for a diverse portfolio of engineered components and construction and steel businesses. Previously, he served as deputy general counsel for ITT Corp. and counsel for The Boeing Co.

He earned a Juris Doctor and MBA from the University of Chicago.

Reltio Inc., a software company in Redwood City, California, announced Eugene Lao as general counsel.

Lao served as vice president and general counsel at DocuSign Inc., Auction.com and Zynga Inc. He was also vice president and regional general counsel at Asia-Pacific at Yahoo Inc.

"I'm truly excited to be at Reltio because I've had a fantastic opportunity to build and scale our legal function," said Lao in a press release. "I also get to work with a world-class team of people helping our Global 2000 customers transform their businesses so they can thrive in the experience economy with a cloud-native responsive data management platform."

He earned his law and master of laws degrees from Duke University School of Law.

Cadence Design Systems Inc., a software and hardware maker in San Jose, California, named Alinka Flaminia as its senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Flaminia succeeds Jim Cowie, who was senior vice president and general counsel.

Flaminia joins Cadence from Mellanox Technologies, recently acquired by Nvidia Corp., where she served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to Mellanox, she served as general counsel and corporate secretary for PMC-Sierra and senior counsel for Xilinx.

"I'm very excited to join the Cadence team and lead a group of incredibly talented legal professionals in a high-growth industry," said Flaminia in the announcement. "I look forward to collaborating with Lip-Bu and the broader Cadence team to further extend the company's commitment to driving a high-performance culture and global customer success."

She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado Law School.

Irvine, California-based patent licensor Acacia Research Corp. appointed Meredith Simmons as general counsel.

Simmons most recently served as general counsel and chief compliance officer of Mason Capital Management from 2011 through 2018.

She holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and a master of laws degree from NYULaw School.

Vantage Data Centers, a Denver-based global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, added Shalini Sharma as senior vice president and general counsel.

Prior to Vantage, Sharma most recently served as assistant general counsel and chief privacy officer at Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.

She received her law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Craig Zajac, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Precisely Inc..

Precisely Inc., a Pearl River, New York-based data integration company, named Craig Zajac as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. The company said in its announcement that this is a newly created position.

Prior to Precisely, Zajac served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for ClickSoftware, which was acquired by Salesforce.com Inc. in 2019. Prior to ClickSoftware, Zajac held the same position at VCE, which was a joint venture of EMC Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., VMware Inc. and Intel Corp. prior to being acquired in conjunction with Dell Technologies Inc.'s $67 billion acquisition of EMC in 2016.

He is a graduate of Duquesne University School of Law.

Trade Association

The Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., appointed Michael W. Briggs as senior vice president and general counsel, per a media release.

Briggs most recently served as assistant general counsel for the Consumer Law Section at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. He also previously served as chief legal officer of America's Community Bankers, a Washington-based trade association of community banks that later merged into the American Bankers Association. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant general counsel for regulatory affairs at Bank of America Corp. and as regulatory counsel for Barnett Banks, which merged with Bank of America.

He earned his Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School and master of laws degree from Boston University School of Law.

Transportation & Travel

Omnitracs LLC, a Dallas-based fleet management solutions provider to transportation and logistics companies, appointed Paul Kirkpatrick as chief legal officer.

Prior to joining Omnitracs, Kirkpatrick served as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Commercial Metals Co.

"As the transportation industry continues to face increased change, Omnitracs' ability to advance their long-term growth strategy is the reason they're a recognized leader in the space," said Kirkpatrick in the announcement. "I look forward to providing leadership to the legal organization at Omnitracs and empowering our team to create a positive impact on a shifting and complex environment."

Kirkpatrick is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Melanie J. Snyder, general counsel of Regional Transportation District in Denver

The Regional Transportation District in Denver hired Melanie J. Snyder to be general counsel. She succeeds Jenifer Ross-Amato, who was the acting general counsel after general counsel Rolf Asphaug retired in February.

Snyder most recently served as chief deputy attorney general and chief of staff Colorado Attorney General's Office, where she managed approximately 500 employees, including 280 attorneys, and a budget of approximately $83 million, according to the district's announcement.

Snyder received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Outdoor and RV company Camping World Holdings Inc. promoted Lindsey Christen to senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, according to a press release.

Christen started at the Lincolnshire, Illinois-based company in 2008 as corporate counsel and received a promotion to assistant general counsel in 2011.

She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School.