Around the house

This week has seen a lot more movement back to private practice than in the other direction. Most prominent was the announcement that former Fiat Chrysler senior vice president and general counsel Marjorie Loeb is joining the Chicago office of law firm Mayer Brown. Ms Loeb will be a partner in the firm’s corporate and securities practice, having left her in-house role at Fiat Chrysler in August this year after three-and-a-half years at the helm of the automaker’s legal department. Prior to joining Fiat Chrysler in 2010, Ms Loeb spent seven years working in-house for supplier Delphi Corp. A statement from Mayer Brown said Ms Loeb will ‘play a pivotal role in Mayer Brown’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle’ Initiative,’ dealing with regulatory, commercial, data security and compliance matters around autonomous driving technologies.

Also back in private practice is former Walt Disney senior attorney Lex Kuo, who is joining the Hong Kong office of Latham & Watkins. Mr Kuo is joining the firm as a counsel in its entertainment, sports and media practice in the greater China region after a two-year stint as an associate at Covington & Burling. Previously, he spent two-years working in-house for Disney in Beijing. Latham & Watkins’ global chair for entertainment sports and media Joe Calabrese said Mr Kuo’s combined experience as both in in-house an outside advisor give him ‘valuable perspective and on-the-ground capabilities for clients in the region.’

Meanwhile, Chicago-headquartered Advocate Health Care has confirmed the hire of Earl J. Barnes II as its new senior vice president and general counsel, effective from 9 January. Mr Barnes joins the company from OhioHealth Corporation in Columbus, where he has served as GC since 2014. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr Barnes has also held general counsel roles at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago and Rockford Health Systems in Rockford, Illinois.

Online lender CAN Capital has appointed chief legal officer Parris Sanz to serve as acting head of the company in lieu of chief executive Dan DeMeo. Mr DeMeo has been placed on a leave of absence as the biggest online lender to small businesses in the United States struggles to ensure that internal collections processes can keep up with rapid growth in originations. The company’s chief financial officer and former Ebay and PayPal executive Arman Verjee has also been put on leave, together with chief risk officer and former Wells Fargo car finance executive Kenneth Gang.

Finally, leading dating and hookup app Grindr has confirmed that it is on the hunt for a general counsel. The company has recruited Lateral Link to conduct the search for a new legal leader to join its headquarters in West Hollywood, California. The company is reportedly looking for someone with at least 6 years’ experience with an AMLaw 200 firm, with in-house experience desired but not essential.