Leidos Taps Rolls-Royce Lawyer to Replace Retiring Legal Chief

Leidos Holdings Inc., a US government contractor, is bringing back Daniel Antal to succeed its retiring general counsel Jerald “Jerry” Howe Jr.

Antal spent almost eight years in different roles at Leidos, including corporate secretary and general counsel of the civil group, prior to leaving in 2021 to become general counsel for North America and defense at Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC. He will succeed Howe as Leidos’ top lawyer on April 1.

Howe will transition to a full-time advisory role through July 31 of this year and then will receive $1,200 per hour on a biweekly basis between Aug. 1 and March 15, 2025, as a consultant to Leidos, the company said in a securities filing. The longtime defense industry lawyer joined Leidos in 2017 after working in private practice at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Steptoe & Johnson.

Leidos, formerly known as Science Applications International Corp., was formed in 2016 when the Reston, Va.-based company merged with Lockheed Martin Corp.’s information technology unit. Leidos announced last year an artificial intelligence partnership with Microsoft Corp. to accelerate adoption of the technology in the public sector.

Leidos has also come under scrutiny in recent years over a sexual harassment scandal at US government facilities in Antarctica, where the company has a lucrative contract with the National Science Foundation.

Howe helped Leidos navigate challenges in the government contracting space, where companies often compete in court and other forums to provide services. He received more than $2.5 million in total compensation during 2022, Leidos disclosed in its most recent proxy statement, and Howe owns almost $4.8 million in Leidos stock, according to Bloomberg data.

Antal, his successor, has “extensive experience” across the defense and aerospace industries, including a range of key general counsel functions like contracts, corporate governance, legal, and risk, Leidos said in a statement. Howe said in the statement he “had the pleasure of working directly with Dan and am confident in his legal acumen and ability to lead our team forward.”

Ogletree Deakins, a national labor and employment-focused law firm, had a role on roughly 44% of Leidos’ appearances in US federal courts within the past five years, according to Bloomberg Law data. Leidos paid $120,000 to Troutman Pepper’s public affairs arm through the first three quarters of 2023 for the firm to lobby on its behalf at the federal level on issues related to defense health programs.