In a rare move, US Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal will step down from the bench next month to join the in-house team at social media giant Facebook. Having overseen several high-profile intellectual property cases during his six-year tenure on the California federal bench, Judge Grewal will now oversee Facebook’s global litigation activities as the company’s new vice president and deputy general counsel of litigation. In a statement to The Recorder, Judge Grewal said that joining Facebook presented ‘a unique opportunity to work on complex legal and policy questions which affect billions of people all over the world in a variety of ways.’

Meanwhile, Big Four accounting giant KPMG has appointed Louise Capon as partner and its general counsel in Australia. Ms Capton replaces incumbent Australian GC Anne Collins, who is shifting to London to become KPMG’s international global general counsel. Ms Capon spent 11 years as a corporate partner at Herbert Smith Freehills before moving in-house to become a senior legal counsel at Origin Energy.

Film production and distribution company MGM Studios has poached HBO senior vice president of legal affairs Lesley Freeman as its own new chief legal officer. After 10 years with HBO, Ms Freeman will from replace outgoing MGM GC Stock Packman from August. According to a statement from MGM, Mr Packman is stepping down from his role at MGM after 14 years in order to ‘pursue other career opportunities.’

British vehicle retailer Motorpoint has hired Freeths senior associate Manjit Heaphy as its first ever head of legal. Mr Heaphy will also serve as company secretary and help guide the firm ahead of its upcoming £200m float on the London Stock Exchange. Mr Heaphy will also help oversee Motorpoint’s relationship with outside counsel Pinsent Masons, who has advised on the IPO.

Finally, American International Group general counsel Thomas Russo has announced his retirement, according to an internal memo to employees sent by chief executive Peter Hancock. Mr Russo will reportedly stay on at the company for an interim transition period while a suitable replacement is found for the role. A former top-tier in-house lawyer at Lehman Brothers Holdings, Mr Russo has worked with global insurer AIG since 2010.