Bank of America Corp is reportedly preparing to name retiring Ford Motor Co general counsel David Leitch as its own new GC, ending a protracted search for a successor to outgoing BofA GC Gary Lynch. The expected appointment marks a very quick turnaround for Mr Leitch, as Ford announced only two weeks ago that he would be retiring from his current role as GC from 1 January after more than a decade with the company. Previously, Mr Leitch has served as deputy counsel to United States President George W. Bush and chief counsel for the US Federal Aviation Administration. While neither Ford nor BofA have confirmed or denied the choice of Leitch, a report run last week in The Wall Street Journal indicated that Mr Leitch was the expected choice.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced the appointment of Horacio Gutierrez to the role of general counsel. The appointment forms part of a sweeping overhaul of Microsoft's legal team following the recent promotion of Microsoft president (and former general counsel) Brad Smith. It is designed to place greater emphasis on privacy, security and relationships with outside stakeholders, and Mr Gutierrez is now set to head a new department called Corporate, External and Legal Affairs. Joining the company as a senior attorney in 1998, Mr Gutierrez led the company's intellectual property legal team between 2006 and 2014, before moving into products and services over the last twelve months.

Honolulu-based Central Pacific Financial Corporation, the parent company of Central Pacific Bank, yesterday announced that current GC Glenn K.C. Ching will assume the role of executive vice president, chief legal officer and division manager of risk management from 1 January. Currently, Mr Ching holds the title of senior vice president, general counsel and company secretary. Under his new title, Mr Ching will oversee legal, compliance, BSA, operations risk management and enterprise risk management for Central Pacific Bank, while also retaining his role as company secretary.

Relativity Media is bringing Andrew W. Levin as the company's new president and general counsel. Mr Levin will report directly to Relativity chief executive officer Ryan Kavanagh, who yesterday described the new GC as 'an accomplished attorney and senior strategist with an outstanding track record'. Mr Levin has most recently served as senior vice president of government affairs for T-Mobile.

Finally, power management solutions firm Intersil has named Andrew Hughes as vice president and general counsel. Mr Hughes most recently provided legal support for the global operations of Ikannos Communications in his role as the company's vice president, general counsel and secretary for Ikannos Communications, including managing corporate governance for the company and drafting strategic software and technology agreements. He will replace outgoing GC Tom Tokos, who will retire at the end of this year after holding the position of general counsel for the last twelve years.