Intel general counsel Bruce Sewell has resigned "to pursue other opportunities" as part of a management shakeup at the company, reports Corporate Counsel.

Deputy general counsel Suzan Miller is now serving as interim head of Intel's law department, which employs 600 lawyers in more than 30 countries.

Intel has announced that it is reorganising its business units and shifting more power to three executive vice presidents. As a result, CEO Paul Otellini will spend more time on corporate strategy and the company's new growth initiatives.

Sewell became Intel's general counsel in November 2004, replacing Thomas Dunlap, who retired after 30 years with the company. One of Sewell's biggest challenges was fighting charges by various government agencies that Intel violated antitrust laws.

In May, the European Commission hit Intel with a record-breaking €1.06bn (£936m) fine for offering illegal rebates to computer makers that used fewer or no chips from its main competitor, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which brought the initial complaint against Intel in Europe in 2001. Intel has said it is appealing the decision.

After the ruling, Sewell insisted that Intel had never paid to prevent AMD products from reaching the European market. "At no point has there ever been any kind of naked payment by Intel," said Sewell. "The issue is whether the rebates we offered were conditional, and our position very definitely is that they were not."

Sewell joined Intel in 1995 as a senior attorney, advising various business groups on matters such as antitrust compliance, licensing and intellectual property. In 2001, he was promoted to deputy general counsel and managed Intel's litigation portfolio. He also handled corporate transactions, including M&A activities.

Before going in-house at Intel, Sewell worked on high-profile litigation for other technology giants as a partner at Phoenix-based firm Brown & Bain, which merged with Seattle-based Perkins Coie in 2004. While there, he handled several high-profile cases, including copyright disputes between Apple and Microsoft.

Corporate Counsel is a US sister title of Legal Week.