When Katherine Adams settles in as Apple Inc.'s new general counsel, a small part of her legal tool kit will include skills she nurtured at the U.S. Supreme Court years ago as a clerk to then-Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

“Kate was, among other things, the peacemaker—she moderated clashes among Justice O'Connor's clerks, and often served as emissary to other chambers,” recalled Mark Perry, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and fellow O'Connor clerk with Adams in the 1993-94 term. “Kate was—and is—thoughtful, respectful, careful, and mature. As a result, she could find a path forward when others were at odds.”

Apple on Oct. 6 announced that Adams, formerly senior vice president and general counsel to Honeywell International Inc., would become the tech giant's general counsel and senior vice president of Legal and Global Security. She will succeed Bruce Sewell, who will retire at the end of the year.