Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is among a handful of technology leaders facing a multitude of lawsuits from plaintiffs claiming to have been harmed by the social media services it provides. The company founded and led by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has also pivoted politically and strategically from its virtual reality-focused metaverse to AI, spending billions as its ambitions expand through acquisitions and hiring.
“This is historic, given all that’s going on with the acceleration of AI and its intersection with an increasingly polarized politics. It’s a pretty unique opening,” said veteran legal recruiter Alisa Levin. “It’s not just the size of the company, but the controversy surrounding it.”
The ideal candidate to succeed Newstead as Meta’s chief legal officer is not just someone familiar with Silicon Valley’s Big Tech landscape and the corridors of Capitol Hill who can navigate complex legal and policy issues, but a person with “amazing judgment and gravitas,” Levin said.
That individual could be someone promoted internally, a top lawyer at another company in a similar industry, or a “very prominent law firm partner who has the wherewithal to make the move in-house,” Levin said. A private practice hire would likely be a lawyer who has been outside counsel to Meta, she said.
“They need someone who is board-ready and can sit in the hot seat,” Levin said.
Michael Allen, another legal search expert with Lateral Link, said Meta is more likely to choose someone with experience managing the legal spend and business concerns of a large technology company. That’s essentially what
Hiring someone from Big Law could be less likely given the steep learning curve in understanding the nuances of Meta’s top legal job, Allen said. An internal option is also a possibility, although Meta has only once elevated from within when Colin Stretch succeeded Theodore “Ted” Ullyot as legal chief a decade ago.
The company has a deep bench of legal talent. Nikhil Shanbhag, a former general counsel at Instacart Inc., oversees competition and regulatory law and had a key role in Meta’s victory last month over the FTC. Meta also brought on ex-Big Law partner Ethan Davis, who clerked for US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, earlier this year to head global litigation strategy.
Searching for ‘Star Power’
A half-dozen senior lawyers familiar with Meta’s operations and those of its counterparts in the insular world of FAANG—an acronym used to identify technology giants Facebook, Apple,
Still, given their knowledge of the company and its rivals, they described some important criteria for finding a new top lawyer.
“At that level it’s not as much about the lawyer’s skill set or experience as it is their star power and leadership ability,” one source said. Having demonstrated an ability to understand technological advances, such as AI, could be one of many components in the legal chief search.
Being an expert in one area of law isn’t enough, as specialists can be secured for various tasks, including as outside counsel, another lawyer said. That includes political “fixers,” or those who can open doors in Washington and elsewhere.
“Many of the ‘bet-your-company’ issues at Meta tend to overlap with political and regulatory matters,” one attorney said. “Having a GC who can swim in those waters with credibility will always be a big plus.”
At a time when many companies are using ties to the US government to achieve their desired business outcomes, Meta could land a high-profile Republican lawyer to replace Newstead, who worked in the first Trump administration. Stretch, her predecessor, was more of a “next man up” appointment, said one source, who noted that Ullyot had strong Republican connections.
The company would be wise, however, to avoid choosing someone whose resume isn’t “tarnished” by too close of an association—real or perceived—to the White House, said one lawyer. Meta works with myriad private parties and governments that could respond negatively to such an appointment.
Allen, the legal recruiter, said it’s for that reason that most major companies generally don’t prioritize politics in looking for new law leaders, instead taking a more long-term view to find the best strategic fit.
Moving On From Meta
Newstead declined to discuss what led her to leave Meta at year’s end. The company, which has been shaking up its executive ranks this year, declined to comment about its search process.
Finding someone with Newstead’s pedigree won’t be easy. She is a former partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell who clerked for Stephen Breyer at the US Supreme Court helped craft the USA Patriot Act while in government service.
While she wasn’t listed as one of Meta’s highest-paid executives in recent years, Newstead received a $19 million pay package after coming aboard in 2019. She still owns $20 million in Meta shares after selling off more than $21.3 million in company stock this year, according to Bloomberg data and securities filings.
In a farewell email to her Meta colleagues, Newstead said it was a “difficult decision” to depart. She praised Zuckerberg and former board member and COO Sheryl Sandberg for their leadership, friendship, and trust.
“Over the last seven years, we’ve hit many milestones,” Newstead said. “We have deepened our compliance culture and commitment to responsible innovation as we build for the exciting future ahead.”
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