Lawrence Jacobs

Lon Jacobs
Born Lawrence A. Jacobs
May 4, 1955 (1955-05-04) (age 56)
Pennsylvania, United States[1]
Occupation Former general counsel of News Corporation, lawyer, executive, businessperson
Spouse Hannah Jacobs

Lawrence "Lon" A. Jacobs (born May 4, 1955) is the former Chief Legal Officer, Senior Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel of News Corporation.[2]

Contents

Biography

Education

Jacobs graduated from Temple University summa cum laude and Brooklyn Law School cum laude.[3]

He has been a member of the Bar of the State of New York since 1982.[4]

News Corporation

Jacobs joined News Corp. in 1996 as deputy to Arthur Siskind, whose position he took over in 2004 when Siskind stepped down and announced his retirement.[5]

Jacobs played a key role in the acquisitions of MySpace and Dow Jones during his tenure as General Counsel.[6]

His salary in 2007 was $4.1 million.[7]

Resignation

On June 8, 2011, Jacobs announced that he would be stepping down from his position as General Counsel at News Corp. in order to "pursue new opportunities."[8]

Jacobs' resignation came when he approached the company Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey to inform him that News Corp. was in breach of his contract; chairman & CEO Rupert Murdoch was using former New York City Schools Chancellor, and newly appointed News Corp. executive, Joel Klein, who joined the company in November 2010, for legal counsel instead of himself.[9] He was released from his multimillion-dollar contract with News Corp. with four years remaining on it.[9]

There are numerous reports regarding the cause for Jacobs' sudden departure, though it is rumored that Jacobs left due to being the top legal officer during the time of the News International phone hacking scandal,[10] as well as friction with Klein.[11] It is also speculated that Jacobs left because of the mishandling of several legal cases, forcing the company to pay $656 million in defeats.[9][12]

Despite such speculation as to Jacobs' reasoning for leaving, it is not known that Jacobs had any involvement in or knowledge of the News of the World phone hacking.[13]

News Corp. has not officially announced a successor for Jacobs and Jacobs has not announced where he will work following his 15 year tenure at the company.[14] It is rumored that Gerson Zweifach will be named the next general counsel, however no statement from News Corp. has been made regarding the appointment.[15]

Personal Life

Jacobs is a Democrat. He was a supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.[6][16]

Jacobs grew up in Middletown, Pennsylvania.[16] He lives with his wife Hannah and his two daughters on the Upper West Side of New York City.[16]

References

  1. ^ Rupert Murdoch’s Right-Hand Man Super Lawyers. Retrieved June 2011.
  2. ^ "News Corporation Executives". News Corporation. http://www.newscorp.com/management/newscor.html. Retrieved 11 December 2010. 
  3. ^ "Group General Counsel Arthur M. Siskind To Retire At Year-End And Be Succeeded By Lawrence A. Jacobs". News Corporation. http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_228.html. Retrieved 17 June 2011. 
  4. ^ "Lawrence A. Jacobs Profile". Forbes. http://people.forbes.com/profile/lawrence-a-jacobs/56505. Retrieved 17 June 2011. 
  5. ^ "Movers and shakers: Eugenie Turton's gateway to the Wates board". The Daily Telegraph. 4 November 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2898672/Movers-and-shakers-Eugenie-Turtons-gateway-to-the-Wates-board.html. Retrieved 11 December 2010. 
  6. ^ a b Lieberman, David (8 June 2011). "Surprise At News Corp: General Counsel Lawrence Jacobs Leaves". Deadline.com. http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/surprise-at-news-corp-general-counsel-lawrence-jacobs-leaves/. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  7. ^ Steffens, Miriam (8 September 2007). "News Corp executives pocket $112m". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/news-corp-executives-pocket-112m/2007/09/07/1188783495861.html. Retrieved 11 December 2010. 
  8. ^ "Lawrence A. Jacobs to Step Down as Senior Executive Vice President, Group General Counsel of News Corporation". News Corporation. http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_485.html. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  9. ^ a b c Sherman, Gabriel (4 November 2011). "How Elisabeth Murdoch is Trying to Finally Get Her Due". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/news/media/elisabeth-murdoch-2011-11. Retrieved 30 November 2011. 
  10. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (8 June 2011). "General Counsel of News Corp. Resigns in Wake of Settlement". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/business/media/09newscorp.html. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
  11. ^ Flint, Joe (9 June 2011). "News Corp. general counsel is leaving after 15 years". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/09/business/la-fi-ct-newscorp-20110609. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
  12. ^ Edwards, Jim (9 June 2011). "The Real Reason Rupert Murdoch's Top Lawyer Resigned: $656M in Defeats". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-42748951/the-real-reason-rupert-murdochs-top-lawyer-resigned-656m-in-defeats/. Retrieved 30 November 2011. 
  13. ^ Pilkington, Ed (7 July 2011). "Murdoch under pressure to contain phone hacking scandal within the UK". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/07/murdoch-phone-hacking-scandal-us. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  14. ^ Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew (10 June 2011). "News Corp plans education acquisitions". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7fac7184-92eb-11e0-9ba7-00144feab49a.html#axzz1PVJEEgq2. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
  15. ^ Adams, Russell (22 December 2011). "News Corp. in Talks to Hire Washington Veteran as Its Counsel". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203686204577115011940626638.html. Retrieved 22 December 2011. 
  16. ^ a b c Harper, Timothy (December 2008). "Rupert Murdoch’s Right-Hand Man". Super Lawyers. http://www.superlawyers.com/new-york-metro/article/Rupert-Murdochs-Right-Hand-Man/007ebd91-1e78-4fea-90e1-5dfa7c03ea5d.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011.