Apple names Scott Tucker litigation chief

CALIFORNIA: Apple has gone shopping in a rival’s legal department, and it has come back with a prize. Scott Tucker, a longtime deputy general counsel and litigation chief at Meta Platforms Inc., is joining the iPhone maker as its new litigation chief, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The timing is no accident. Apple faces a growing array of lawsuits, and it wants a seasoned hand on the wheel.

Tucker becomes Apple’s vice president of global litigation and financial services, a newly created position overseeing commercial and patent litigation worldwide. He will also manage legal matters involving the company’s financial offerings. The people, who asked not to be named because the move is not public, said spokespeople for Apple and Meta declined to comment.

The hire reunites Tucker with Jennifer Newstead, Apple’s general counsel, who is bringing on a trusted lieutenant from her time at the social networking giant. Newstead took over as Apple’s general counsel in March after serving as Meta’s top lawyer for six years. Tucker also previously held a senior legal position at Morgan Stanley, which gives him experience relevant to his financial services brief. Few appointments fit a job description so snugly.

The appointment redraws the org chart. Heather Grenier, Apple’s current vice president of commercial and competition litigation, will move one level lower in the organisation, reporting to Tucker instead of directly to Newstead. Grenier will still remain on Newstead’s legal leadership team. Kyle Andeer, another senior member of Apple’s legal department and its longtime vice president managing regulatory and product-related legal matters, is seeing his role expand. He is gaining oversight of international legal matters and functions involving online child safety, cybersecurity and law enforcement.

The changes are part of a broader reorganisation under Newstead, who oversees legal and government affairs. Apple recently hired Nate Gatten, a former American Airlines Group Inc. executive, as its vice president of government affairs. The company has also appointed new government affairs leads for different international regions. Apple combined its legal and government affairs groups under Newstead following the recent retirements of Lisa Jackson, the former head of environmental, policy and social initiatives, and previous top lawyer Kate Adams. Former chief executive officer Tim Cook, now the company’s executive chairman, has also taken a leading role in government affairs.

The stakes are high. Apple is waging a variety of legal battles, including a sweeping US antitrust lawsuit, its long-running dispute with Epic Games Inc. over App Store restrictions, and litigation related to privacy and delays to Siri features. The company has faced billions of dollars in judgments and settlements in recent years, while regulators in the US and Europe have challenged business practices central to the iPhone maker’s operations.

Those setbacks have forced Apple to change its commission structure and the circumstances under which it can charge developers. The changes threaten to significantly slow growth in Apple’s services business, a key driver of revenue expansion in recent years. A slowdown in that business would deal a major blow to the company’s overall financial performance. Some Apple executives believe the company has not fared as well in court as it should have, particularly in litigation involving the App Store. A fresh litigation chief is a clear response to that concern.

Even in the best of times, overseeing Apple’s litigation is a difficult job. The Cupertino, California-based company is among the most frequently sued businesses in the world, facing cases ranging from slip-and-fall claims at its retail stores to multibillion-dollar antitrust disputes. Grenier took over the role under particularly challenging circumstances, replacing her predecessor just before Apple’s landmark trial against Epic Games began in 2021. Her tenure has also spanned two major leadership transitions: the appointment of John Ternus as chief executive officer and Newstead’s arrival.

In recent weeks, Ternus has overseen a sweeping series of executive changes, including the appointment of new leaders for the App Store, events and corporate functions such as information security and real estate. The reshuffling also includes the departure of the longtime Apple Pay chief, the replacement of the company’s mergers and acquisitions head, and a reorganisation of the company’s hardware engineering division.

For Apple, the message is plain: a deeper legal bench, a sharper focus on litigation and a leadership team built on trust. With Tucker in place, Newstead has her lieutenant, and Apple has a fighting chance of turning its courtroom fortunes around.