GC Appointments
ServiceLink hired Donald Blanchard as general counsel. Blanchard brings 14 years of experience as senior counsel to three national settlement service operations. He was previously deputy general counsel for Lender Processing Services Inc.
Yukio Morikubo was appointed senior vice president and general counsel at Intermec Inc. He brings more than 20 years of experience and was formerly general counsel and corporate secretary at drugstore.com before joining Intermec.
Rashmi Garde joined Marin Software as its first general counsel and will oversee global legal affairs. Garde was formerly vice president and general counsel for VMware, and helped it expand from a startup into a public company.
Michelle Davies was named general counsel of Foster Wheeler AG after serving as acting general counsel since 2010. Davies was formerly group legal director and company secretary and member of the executive committee at English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd.
Fred Beckley was appointed general counsel and executive vice president of business affairs for Quepasa Corp., a social media technology company. Beckley most recently served as executive vice president, business development and general counsel for TruePosition Inc.
The Global Business Travel Association welcomed Patricia Higginbotham as vice president of governmental relations and general counsel. She formerly worked with Air Transport Association of America as vice president for policy and chief of staff.
Geoffrey T. Williams Jr. joined Alacer Gold Corp. as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. Williams most recently served as assistant general counsel and secretary with Intrepid Potash Inc.
Defense and security company Saab AB appointed Annika Baremo general counsel and head of group legal affairs, effective in February. Baremo was previously senior legal adviser at Sandvik Materials Technology.
Tom Gunning was named senior vice president and general counsel for Merck Serono and will be based in Geneva, Switzerland. Gunning previously served as senior vice president and general counsel for EMD Serono.
Resource Search Co. Inc. hired Robert A. Schachter as general counsel. Schachter was formerly a partner at Akabas & Sproule, and he also was a partner for 23 years at Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C.
Other In-House Moves
Fidelis Care, the New York State Catholic Health Plan, hired Frank Rinaldi as senior associate general counsel. Rinaldi previously served as senior employment and litigation counsel for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
William Middleton resigned from his role as senior vice president and general counsel of Wi-LAN Inc. Middleton will continue to work with the company on a consulting basis.
Nintendo of America Inc. Senior Vice President and General Counsel Richard Flamm announced his retirement after 19 years of service to the video game company. Flamm was named general counsel in 1999.
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. appointed Kevin T. Reynolds as senior vice president and chief legal officer. Reynolds was previously vice president, counsel and chief compliance officer of Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America.
Ian Fredericks joined Hilco Trading LLC as vice president and assistant general counsel. Fredericks previously worked with Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom in the firm’s Corporate Restructuring Group.
Law Firm News
David A. Swartz was hired as of counsel by Elkins Kalt Wentraub Reuben Gartside and brings more than 20 years of experience in real estate law. He was formerly a senior executive and general counsel for Arden Realty Inc.
Charles H. Gardner joined midsize firm Much Shelist as special counsel in the firm’s IP & Technology group and will lead of the firm’s new social media practice. Gardner was previously in-house counsel and litigator for Harpo Studios Inc.
Perkins Coie hired Christine A. Williams as of counsel in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice. She previously served as senior counsel for Northrop Grumman Corp.
