In July, the amount of high-profile top lawyer moves appeared to be at pre-COVID-19 numbers despite summer hiring still at large and becoming more competitive than ever.

Legal recruiters told Corporate Counsel this week that the in-house jobs lost earlier this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic are being slowly filled, with many of those positions replaced by contract attorney roles.

The biggest move in July is Bradley Gayton, the longtime general counsel of Detroit-area automaker Ford Motor Co., who announced he would take on the top lawyer spot vacated by Bernhard Goepelt, who retired in February, at The Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta. Another notable move was Paul Grewal, a former judge for U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, who assumed the chief legal officer role at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase after a vice president and deputy general counsel term at Facebook Inc. Assurant Inc. gave the official chief legal officer title to Jay Rosenblum, who worked as the top lawyer in an interim capacity.

Prudential Financial Inc. will also be saying goodbye to its longtime general counsel as Timothy Harris, who has worked in the legal department for over 30 years, will retire in September. Ann Kappler, the current senior vice president, deputy general counsel and head of external affairs, will step into the general counsel role.

For the top lawyers being promoted even higher in the C-suite, John Schultz at Hewlett Packard Enterprise had his title changed to incorporate the company's chief operating officer role.

Usually the busiest industry, health care companies seemed to be embracing diversity and inclusion as Merck & Co. Inc.'s Organon & Co., Alphabet Inc.'s Verily Life Sciences, Kit Check Inc. and MyoKardia Inc. each named a Black woman as the legal lead.

Below are other top lawyer moves from this month. Two television streaming networks appointed general counsel while two archdioceses in major cities named new legal heads.

Education

Frontline Technologies Group LLC, a kindergarten to 12th-grade school administration software provider, named Victoria Silbey chief legal officer.

Silbey served as senior vice president, chief legal officer, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Laureate Education Inc. Previously, she held the role of chief legal officer and senior vice president at SunGard Data Systems, now part of FIS Global. She also was a litigation attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

"As compliance and regulatory matters come to the forefront for the education and technology communities in this pivotal time, we have an even greater responsibility to ensure that our solutions, services and processes effectively support our K-12 districts so they can focus on what they do best—educating our children," said Silbey in a media release from the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based company.

She is a graduate of Cornell Law School.

Andrea Anderson is the new general counsel at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

An alum who earned an undergraduate degree in political science and sociology from the university, Anderson served in the role of the university assistant general counsel for nearly five years.

She received her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Energy

Weatherford International plc appointed Scott C. Weatherholt as executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Weatherholt joins the Houston-headquartered wellbore and production solutions company after serving as Arena Energy's senior vice president and general counsel. Previously, he was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Midstates Petroleum. He spent 10 years at Samson Resources, where he was assistant general counsel of operations. He began his career as an associate in the energy practice group at the Oklahoma-based law firm Pray Walker.

He holds a law degree from the University of Oklahoma.

First Solar Inc. in Tempe, Arizona, named Jason Dymbort general counsel and secretary after serving on an interim basis since March.

Dymbort originally joined First Solar in 2008. Between 2015 and 2018, he served as general counsel and secretary for the general partner of 8point3 Energy Partners, then a First Solar affiliate. Before First Solar, he was a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

He holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Entertainment

FaceBank Group Inc. named Gina DiGioia Sheldon to the newly created position of general counsel and corporate secretary at fuboTV. She will be based in New York, according to FaceBank Group, which merged with the direct-to-consumer live TV streaming platform in April.

"I am very excited to join fuboTV," said Sheldon in a media statement. "I am impressed with the strength of the leadership team's vision and look forward to serving as a key partner to achieve objectives and to protect the interests of the company and its stakeholders."

Sheldon most recently as U.S. general counsel and chief operations officer for Fiizy, a global financial technology company with products serving markets in Europe and Latin America. Prior to Fiizy, she held general counsel positions at Defy Media, a digital content media company, and Alloy, a multimedia advertising and marketing company. She also practiced law as a senior associate of Grant, Herrmann, Schwartz & Klinger.

She graduated from the University of Buffalo School of Law.

Tubi, a San Francisco-based streaming service division of Fox Entertainment, named Carolyn Forrest as senior vice president and general counsel.

Forrest most recently served as vice president of legal affairs for Fox Television Stations. Prior to Fox, she was vice president and general counsel for New World Television, which Fox acquired in 1997. She also worked for NBC as an assistant general attorney in her first in-house position.

She is a graduate of Columbia University School of Law.

Faith

The Archdiocese of Chicago appointed James Geoly as general counsel.

Geoly was most recently a partner at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, which he joined in 1997. He previously practiced with Mayer Brown. He has represented the Archdiocese of Chicago in various matters since 1986 and also over the years the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Evangelical Covenant Church and several Roman Catholic dioceses.

He holds a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

The Archdiocese of Boston promoted Francis J. O'Connor to general counsel. Previously assistant general counsel, O'Connor succeeds F. Beirne Lovely, who died June 7.

O'Connor joined the archdiocese in 2009 as assistant general counsel.

"Getting to know and advise our priests these past many years has provided me a unique perspective and great appreciation for the essential ministry they provide to the people of God," said O'Connor in a statement. "We are a blessed Church and I am proud to serve Cardinal Seán and the Archdiocese of Boston."

He is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School.

Fashion

Mad Engine LLC, a San Diego-based apparel wholesaler with brands including Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Nickelodeon, named Noah Steinsapir as general counsel and executive vice president.

Steinsapir most recently served as general counsel for Hybrid Apparel. He also served as general counsel for Kretek International Inc. Before his in-house career, he worked at law firms Mayer Brown, Venable, and McDermott Will & Emery.

"Mad Engine's leadership in the licensed apparel space as demonstrated by its best in class design, its speed to retail capabilities, its deep industry relationships and its track record of yearly growth were all obvious draws to me," said Steinsapir in a press release. "On a much more personal note, Mad Engine's commitment to sustainability/the environment, its dedication to supporting the community and the fact it is a minority-owned, minority-operated business all resonate with me on a much deeper level."

He earned his law degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.

Finance

Gus Coldebella wrote in a Medium post that he is the new general counsel of Paradigm, a cryptocurrency-focused investment firm in San Francisco.

Coldebella was the chief legal officer at fintech company Circle Internet Financial Inc. Earlier in his career, he served as the top lawyer in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His law firm experience includes being a litigation partner at Goodwin Procter.

"Joining Paradigm offers the chance to continue the work I began at Circle and deploy my experience as a lawyer and former policymaker to assist the fund and its portfolio companies with these complex issues," Coldebella wrote in the post. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant leaders and thinkers in the space."

He earned his law degree from Cornell Law School.

Brex Inc., a San Francisco-based financial services company, hired Katie Biber as chief legal officer.

Most recently Biber served as general counsel at Anchorage, a cryptocurrency platform and asset custodian company. She is a former general counsel of business affairs and corporate secretary at Thumbtack Inc. and senior counsel at Airbnb Inc.

She is a Harvard Law School graduate.

Jersey City, New Jersey-based FXSpotStream LLC, a bank-owned consortium operating as a market utility, appointed Richard Kaltenbach as general counsel.

Kaltenbach joins the company after a 15-year tenure at NEX Group plc, formerly ICAP plc, which was acquired by CME Group Inc. in 2018. At NEX, he most recently served as general counsel of the Americas and global head of compliance.

He received a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.

Real estate finance company Velocity Financial Inc. added Roland Kelly as general counsel and corporate secretary.

Before joining the Westlake Village, California, company, Kelly was a managing director and associate general counsel for Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

He earned a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.

USA Technologies Inc., a Malvern, Pennsylvania-based cashless payments and software services company servicing the self-service retail market, named Davina Furnish as general counsel. She will be based in Atlanta.

Furnish was general counsel of Concurrent Computer Corp. from 2013 to 2017, having worked in a number of legal leadership roles since 2007. She began her career with CheckFree Corp., now a part of Fiserv Inc., where she previously worked with USA Technologies CEO Sean Feeney. She also served as litigation counsel for Interland Inc., now Web.com.

She earned her J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Food

Waitr Holdings Inc., a leader in on-demand food ordering and delivery, appointed Thomas Pritchard to general counsel.

Waitr, headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, said in its announcement that Pritchard has over 35 years of legal experience.

He holds a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law.

Government

Pat Martin joins the National Insurance Crime Bureau as general counsel.

Martin is the former chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in that office for the last 15 years. During his time in the Criminal Division, he led a team of attorneys litigating federal criminal law violations including cybercrime and fraud.

He received his law degree from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Health

Kronos Bio Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel cancer therapeutics by targeting dysregulated transcription, appointed Barbara Kosacz as chief operating officer and general counsel.

Kosacz joins the San Mateo, California-based company after more than 25 years at Cooley, most recently serving as international head of the firm's life sciences practice.

"While my decision to leave private practice was a tough one, my decision to join Kronos was easy, given the company's top-notch leadership team, robust pipeline, deep expertise in computational biology, proprietary product engine designed to address well-known yet historically 'undruggable targets,' and strong financial position," said Kosacz in the company's announcement.

She earned a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Teligent Inc., a Buena, New Jersey-based specialty generic pharmaceutical company, named Philip Yachmetz as chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Starting in 2015, Yachmetz served as chief legal and compliance officer of Sovereign Medical Services Inc., an integrated community health care system company. Prior to Sovereign, he held several senior executive positions at Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company from 2004 to 2014, including co-president, chief business officer, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary from 2004 to 2014.

Yachmetz holds a J.D. from the California Western School of Law.

Arrakis Therapeutics hired Erik Spek as vice president of legal and intellectual property. The Waltham, Massachusetts-headquartered biopharmaceutical company focuses on the discovery of small molecule medicines that target RNA.

Spek most recently was the senior vice president and head of legal affairs and IP at Vedanta Biosciences. Before Vedanta, he was the director of IP at Epizyme Inc. Previously, he worked at IP law firm Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks based in Boston.

"I am thrilled to be joining Arrakis at this exciting point as it advances its initial product candidates toward the clinic," said Spek in a statement. "We have both the scientific leadership and the resources to realize our vision of bringing RNA-targeted small molecule medicines to patients, and I look forward to working with the team to build on recent progress and cement our leadership in this exciting field."

He earned his J.D. from Suffolk Law School and Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from New York University.

San Diego-based Poseida Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating next-generation cell and gene therapeutics, hired Harry J. Leonhardt as general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Leonhardt most recently served as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary and a member of the executive committee for Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. Prior to Halozyme, he served as senior vice president of legal and compliance and corporate secretary at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2012. He also served as chief litigation counsel and later as general counsel for the European Region at Allergan Pharmaceuticals.

"This is an exciting time to join the Poseida team as it begins its transition to a publicly traded company and executes its strategy on delivering its novel gene engineering platform technologies targeted at overcoming the primary limitations of current generation cell and gene therapeutics," said Leonhardt in the announcement.

He is a graduate of University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

C4 Therapeutics Inc. in Watertown, Massachusetts, named Jolie M. Siegel as chief legal officer for the company pioneering a new class of small-molecule drugs that destroy disease-causing proteins.

Siegel previously served as general counsel and secretary at Neon Therapeutics Inc., an immuno-oncology company focused on developing personalized and precision cancer therapies. Prior to Neon, she served as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary at Intralinks Inc., a financial technology company.

"C4T is pioneering a completely novel platform targeting previously elusive drug targets and offers a new approach to treating diseases," said Siegel in a press release. "I am excited to be a part of this dynamic team as we work together to advance C4T's drug pipeline into the clinic."

She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Katherine Lemley has joined MTM Inc., a non-emergency medical transportation broker, as general counsel. She replaces Don Tiemeyer, who retired at the end of June following 17 years at the Lake St. Louis, Missouri-based company.

Lemley joins MTM from Centene Corp., where she spent three years as regional general counsel managing seven Centene markets.

She earned her J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law and executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Boise, Idaho-based Healthwise Inc. named Cydni Waldner as general counsel. She succeeds Paul Street, who stepped out of retirement six months ago to assist in Healthwise's legal team transition.

Waldner joins the nonprofit health organizations from Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley, where she mainly advised employers on Affordable Care Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance. She started her career as an in-house attorney for Boise Cascade Corp.

"I'm excited to be joining Healthwise because I believe in the company's mission of helping people make better health decisions," Waldner said in the press release. "I look forward to helping the organization navigate the legal landscape as it moves forward and collaborating with our partners and clients as we work together to help people live their healthiest lives."

She earned her J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law.

Nashville, Tennessee-based Envision Healthcare Corp. added Ilene Moore as senior vice president and general counsel. She starts Aug. 1 and succeeds Craig Wilson, who is leaving Envision after 20 years.

Moore most recently held the position of senior vice president and general counsel at the Health Information and Management Systems Society. She previously served as general counsel for DaVita Medical Group and the Medical Groups of Kaiser Permanente.

She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law.

CentraCare, a health care system serving Central Minnesota, promoted Santo M. Cruz to senior vice president and general counsel.

Since 2018, Cruz has served as CentraCare's associate general counsel and vice president of community and government relations. Prior to joining CentraCare, Cruz held the following positions: deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and attorney for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Cruz began his legal career as a prosecutor for Hennepin County.

Cruz earned his law degree from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, where he is currently an adjunct professor.

MyoKardia Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies to treat serious cardiovascular diseases, appointed Denelle Waynick as general counsel and corporate secretary. She replaces Cynthia Ladd, who has been general counsel since January 2018 and will be retiring this year.

Waynick joins the Brisbane, California-based MyoKardia from UCB Inc., where she most recently served as vice president of U.S. legal affairs and U.S. general counsel and head of global enterprise risk management. During her tenure at UCB, she relocated to UCB's headquarters in Belgium. Prior to UCB, she oversaw legal operations as vice president of legal affairs, global brands at Actavis Inc., now AbbVie. She served as legal director at Schering-Plough, now Merck.

She holds a J.D. from Howard University School of Law.

Insurance

Arch Insurance in New York promoted Regan Shulman to executive vice president and general counsel of Arch Insurance North America. She succeeds Patrick Nails, who continues in his position as executive vice president and chief claims officer.

Shulman joined Arch Insurance in June 2012 and most recently held the role of senior vice president and deputy general counsel. Prior to Arch, Shulman worked for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan as both a litigation associate and special counsel.

"I'm excited about the opportunities ahead of me and the legal group," Shulman said in a statement. "We have a strong team in place and I'm looking forward to helping ensure we successfully support our growing businesses."

She holds a J.D. from Fordham Law School.

USAA named Robert "Bob" Johnson its chief legal officer and general counsel. He succeeds Deneen Donnley, who is now senior vice president and general counsel of the energy utility Consolidated Edison Co. of New York.

Johnson joins USAA in San Antonio from commercial bank Truist Financial Corp., where he was general counsel of corporate, commercial and legal shared services. Earlier in his career, he was general counsel at BB&T for nearly 10 years.

"I am honored to join this mission-driven organization focused on facilitating the financial security of the military community," said Johnson in a media release. "We have a fantastic team here built to serve our membership, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this organization."

He is a graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Manufacturing

Kaman Distribution Group, a distributor of power transmission products in Bloomfield, Connecticut, appointed Stephen Martin as vice president and general counsel.

Most recently, Martin served as general counsel and corporate secretary for Accuride Corp.

He received his law degree from Duke University School of Law.

Transcat Inc., a Rochester, New York-based laboratory service provider, tapped James M. Jenkins to be general counsel and vice president of corporate development. He will start Sept. 14, according to the company.

Jenkins is partner in charge of Harter Secrest & Emery's New York office and heads the firm's securities practice group. He has served as Transcat's outside general counsel since 2001.

A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, he obtained his law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law.

AptarGroup Inc., a drug delivery, consumer product dispensing and active packaging solutions maker, hired Kimberly Y. Chainey as its executive vice president and global general counsel.

Prior to joining the Crystal Lake, Illinois-based company, Chainey most recently was vice president and general counsel at Panasonic Avionics Corp. She has held in-house roles at companies such as The Hershey Co. and Avis.

She holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Real Estate

Matt N. Thomson Jr. will succeed Shirley Goza as QTS Realty Trust Inc.'s general counsel, secretary and vice president Dec. 31.

The Overland Park, Kansas-based data center solutions provider made the announcement upon the news of Goza's retirement following 14 years at the company. Thomson will join QTS later in the year and serve as co-general counsel with Goza during the transition period.

Thomson currently is a partner at Hogan Lovells US in Washington, D.C., where he has practiced law since 2006. He has represented QTS as outside counsel since 2008 and worked on the company's 2013 initial public offering.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Tennessee.

Retail

Signet Jewelers Ltd., which owns Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, promoted general counsel Stash Ptak to chief legal and transformation officer. Lynn Dennison, who held the position for almost a decade, will step down Aug. 31. 

Dennison joined Akron, Ohio-based Signet in 2011 as senior vice president of legal, compliance and risk management.

"I've enjoyed working with such an outstanding team, and I'm proud of the progress we've made together," Dennison said in the press release. "I'm leaving with confidence that Stash and the team will continue to do great work and drive results. I'll look forward to watching Signet's next chapter unfold."

Ptak was promoted to senior vice president and general counsel in 2019.

"I am honored and excited to take on this expanded role," Ptak said in the release. "I can't thank Lynn enough for her mentorship, and the opportunity and confidence that she, Gina [Drosos, CEO] and the board placed in me. I look forward to helping Signet continue its momentum and help ensure that we emerge from this period both a stronger and more-focused company and team."

He holds a J.D. from the University of Akron.

Staffing

TrueBlue, a specialized workforce solutions provider, appointed Garrett Ferencz as chief legal officer. Ferencz, who is replacing the recently retired Jim Defebaugh, will also continue to serve as the company's chief ethics and compliance officer.

Ferencz joined TrueBlue in 2007. He served in various legal and compliance leadership roles before becoming deputy general counsel and chief litigation officer in 2018.

He graduated from Seattle University School of Law.

Technology

Bugcrowd Inc., the crowdsourced security company in San Francisco, appointed Chris Nadan as general counsel and vice president of legal.

Prior to Bugcrowd, Nadan served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Actian after working at Sun Microsystems for several years.

He received his law degree from University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, where he also served as an adjunct professor.

CUJO AI, which develops and applies artificial intelligence to improve the security, control and privacy of connected devices, named Jeremy Otis as general counsel.

Otis joins El Segundo, California-based CUJO AI from Wärtsilä Marine, where he served as legal director for the Americas based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"I am excited to join CUJO AI as general counsel to support its next growth phase. The development and pace of change in cybersecurity have never been faster. I am convinced that my experience and background will benefit our efforts and goals in our success journey. I am looking forward to working with highly skilled and experienced colleagues at the company," said Otis in a statement.

He holds a J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and a master of laws degree in international and comparative law from the Georgetown University Law Center.

AppLovin, a Palo Alto, California-based mobile game maker, appointed Victoria "Tory" Valenzuela to chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Valenzuela joins AppLovin from Machine Zone, where she was chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

"Born and raised professionally in Silicon Valley, I've found a home where my industry knowledge and background are in sync with the needs of the company," said Valenzuela in the media release. "I'm most excited about the energy and quality of the people here at AppLovin. It's a perfect fit."

She is a graduate of Stanford University Law School.

Trade Association

DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar appointed Sean Dolan as executive vice president of operations and general counsel. Dolan's appointment comes a month after Chicago-based DRI named Dean Martinez, former general counsel and chief operating officer for Association for Supply Chain Management, as CEO.

Also from the Association for Supply Chain Management, Dolan most recently served as director of business operations and deputy general counsel for three years.

"This is a compelling time to be joining DRI with the challenges that confront the legal industry, and our members in particular," said Dolan in the press release. "I firmly believe that industry associations play a key role in the success of the sectors they serve, and look forward to working closely with my new colleagues at DRI to provide leadership and support."

He holds a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.

The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers, hired Marc Sorini as its first-ever in-house general counsel. The Boulder, Colorado-based association said Sorini will be based in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Sorini, who has experience spanning over 20 years of serving as a counsel for small and independent craft brewers, most recently was a partner with McDermott Will & Emery.

"Having represented the Brewers Association as outside counsel since its formation, and the BAA before that, joining the BA in-house feels like coming home to the independent brewers that first inspired me to dedicate my legal career to alcohol beverage industry issues," said Sorini in the announcement. "I look forward to working with the BA to help small and independent craft brewers survive and thrive in a marketplace substantially altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, wholesaler consolidation, and the globalization of the beer industry."

He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Transportation

Meritor Inc. named Hannah Lim-Johnson as senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. She will start Aug. 3.

Lim-Johnson most recently a senior vice president and chief legal officer at Kelly Services. She also held senior-level roles at Public Service Enterprise Group, ADT Corp. and TYCO International plc, and served as deputy attorney general for the Attorney General's Office in Trenton, New Jersey. She also serves as a board member for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

She holds a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.

Scottsdale, Arizona-based intermodal chassis leasing servicer Flexi-Van Leasing LLC appointed Katie Bennett as general counsel. Bennett joins FlexiVan following the recent merger between FlexiVan and American Intermodal Management announced in February.

Bennett most recently served as general counsel to Premier Trailer Leasing Inc. in Texas, a trailer leasing and rental company. Prior to her in-house career, she held positions at Jones Day and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges.

She is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Law.