Fox Corp. Promotes Lawyer After Recouping Prime Time News Lead

Fox Corp. promoted Jeff A. Taylor to be its general counsel after overcoming a prime time cable news ratings drop that occurred the same month President Donald Trump left the White House.

Taylor, previously the company’s chief litigation counsel, will work in his new post with the Fox’s top lawyer, Viet Dinh. No one held the general counsel title at Fox prior to Taylor’s promotion.

Taylor “confidently navigates complex legal matters, ensures best corporate governance, and inspires his teams,” Dinh said in a statement. “Jeff will put all that experience and expertise into greater action as he leads our legal function.”

He gets his promotion after Fox in February re-gained the position it had held for 19 years as the leading prime time cable news network. Fox opened up 2021 with lower January ratings than its two main cable competitors, CNN and MSNBC.

Taylor joined Fox in 2019 as executive vice president and chief legal counsel. He previously worked at General Motors Co. and Raytheon Co. and spent more than 15 years in federal government, including a stint as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 2006 to 2009.

Also joining Taylor’s team is Nicholas Trutanich, former U.S. Attorney for Nevada, who becomes executive vice president and chief ethics & compliance officer at Fox. His job is to provide ethics advice, oversee compliance training and investigations, and be the point of contact with law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

In addition to Taylor, Claudia Teran, executive vice president and corporate general counsel and general counsel of Fox Sports, report to Dinh.

Dinh, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, joined Fox as its top legal official in September 2018. He oversees legal, regulatory and government affairs for the parent company of Fox News, Fox Sports and Fox Broadcasting.

Last year, Dinh was among a handful of Fox executives, including founder Rupert Murdoch, who opted to forego paychecks for five months as the company adjusted its operations to the coronavirus pandemic. He was among the first law department leaders in private industry to temporarily forego his pay. According to 2019 company filings, his compensation was $24.12 million.