21st Century Fox GC to Return 'Home' to Williams & Connolly Following Disney Deal
Gerson Zweifach will return to his old law firm once the Disney deal closes—likely in the first half of 2019.
September 13, 2018 at 01:32 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
Following the completion of the The Walt Disney Co.'s multibillion-dollar acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Fox's general counsel will return to the law firm where he spent more than 30 years.
21st Century Fox announced on Thursday Gerson Zweifach will remain its senior executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer until the close of the deal with Disney, when he will return to Williams & Connolly.
The new company that will spin off from the Disney deal, “New Fox”, will have its own general counsel, whose name has not been announced yet.
In July, shareholders of both Disney and 21st Century Fox voted to approve Disney buying out major assets for $71.3 billion. The deal is expected to be closed in the first half of 2019.
Disney would then own the company's television and movie studio, television channels FX and National Geographic, a stake in Hulu, television operations in India and Fox's stake in the London-based TV company Sky.
Zweifach, who did not immediately respond to request for comment on his move, joined Fox in 2012 and has helped guide the New York-based company through a transformational period.
“Over the past six and a half years I have benefited from the staunch support of Rupert [Murdoch], Lachlan, James, and our board, John Nallen and my colleagues who practice law with me here and around the world,” Zweifach said in a statement. “I am going to see our Disney transaction through, and then it's time for me to end my working sabbatical and return home. I will be forever grateful to Rupert for giving me this opportunity.”
At Williams & Connolly, Zweifach, a Yale Law School grad, tried media, First Amendment, antitrust and securities cases. He remained listed on the firm's website as “of counsel” until earlier this year. In 2016, Zweifach was honored as one of “America's 50 Outstanding General Counsel” by The National Law Journal.
In a statement, Dane Butswinkas, chairman of Williams & Connolly, said he's “delighted” to have Zweifach back at the firm.
“While at Fox, Gerson was responsible for overseeing the company's response to investigations in the U.S. and the U.K. relating to phone hacking, the resolution of allegations of sexual harassment at Fox News, the creation of a world class global compliance team, and major M&A matters including the pursuit of Sky and the sale to Disney,” Butswinkas said.
Butswinkas pointed out that for 18 months before the two split into separate public companies, Zweifach served as general counsel of both Twenty-First Century Fox and News Corp.
Zweifach also has the distinction of reigning as one of the highest-paid GCs in several editions of Corporate Counsel's GC Compensation Survey. According to this year's stats, in 2017, Zweifach took home a base salary of $3 million, as well as $2.5 million in nonequity incentives and $2,370,310 in stock awards, putting him at No.3 in the survey's overall cash compensation rankings.
It appears that Zweifach's colleagues in the C-suite will miss his presence. 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch said in a statement that working with Zweifach has been one of the “great pleasures” of his career.
“He's brilliant, exacting and fun; I'm deeply grateful for his enormous contribution to our company, and for his friendship,” Murdoch said.
This story has been updated to include comment from the chairman of Williams & Connolly.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllGoogle Fails to Secure Long-Term Stay of Order Requiring It to Open App Store to Rivals
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 3Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 4Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250