Apple, the multinational technology company based in Cupertino, California, announced the hiring of a new general counsel, Jennifer Newstead. Ms. Newstead most recently served as the chief legal officer of rival Meta Platforms. The hiring comes as Apple’s longtime general counsel Katherine Adams announced her retirement.

Ms. Newstead officially starts her role as general counsel of Apple in March 2026. Since joining Meta in 2019, she has overseen corporate and regulatory matters for Meta’s diverse businesses including WhatsApp, Instagram, Reality Labs, Facebook, and Meta AI. Prior to working at Meta, Ms. Newstead served in senior government roles. Her government positions included serving as a legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State and serving as general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget. She also has experience working in private practice at the global law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Ms. Newstead was a partner in the firm’s litigation department for twelve years.

Katherine Adams has served as Apple’s general counsel since 2017, helping the company navigate challenging lawsuits and corporate transactions. Apple has prevailed in a number of antitrust lawsuits and privacy class actions, including the company’s $95 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging that Apple’s AI voice assistant Siri recorded private conversations. Prior to joining Apple, Ms. Adams served as general counsel of Honeywell and as a partner at the global law firm Sidley Austin LLP.

Ms. Adams has reflected on the evolving role of in-house legal counsel. Working as an in-houselegal counsel, particularly at fast growing companies, can be both highly intense and highly rewarding.

“Though the theoretical responsibilities of in-house counsel are the same, in-house responsibilities have increased in scope and complexity truly exponentially. These jobs have gone from sort of lifestyle jobs to the work being incredibly challenging, extremely interesting, and very demanding” stated Adams.

In-house lawyers today are expected to have knowledge of a broad range of legal topics, including mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, corporate governance, antitrust, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and litigation. This means in-house lawyers must stay current on legal developments across many areas of law. With the rapid rise of AI and cybersecurity threats, in-house lawyers must also stay on top of technological advancements.

More significantly, in-house lawyers today are expected to be strategic business partners, integrating legal perspectives into overall business decisions. In-house lawyers are expected to collaborate across departments to support company growth. Legal problems cannot be solved in isolation by company’s legal department, but rather require consideration of broader business objectives and perspectives.

Lawyers often are stereotyped as being risk adverse while entrepreneurs are seen as having a high appetite for risk. To be a strategic business partners, in-house lawyers must set appropriate guardrails on the company to prevent future legal consequences while also helping the company achieve its commercial goals. The role requires constant adaption and a deep understanding of the company’s business model and culture.