By Emily Glazer
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said its general counsel, Stephen
Cutler, will step down from his current role and become vice
chairman of the firm early next year.
Stacey Friedman, general counsel of the bank's corporate and
investment bank, will replace Mr. Cutler, who helped the bank deal
with numerous regulatory investigations and settlements since the
crisis. For the rest of this year, Ms. Friedman will report to Mr.
Cutler as his deputy. She will join the bank's operating committee
next year when her new role begins.
Mr. Cutler will act as a "senior adviser" to J.P. Morgan
Chairman and Chief Executive James Dimon, other executives and the
board of directors, the bank said, adding that he will continue to
assist on complex legal issues including matters already in
progress.
Mr. Cutler has been an executive with J.P. Morgan's legal group
since February 2007. He joined the bank from Wilmer Cutler
Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, where he was a partner and
co-chairman of the firm's securities department. "I tried to
convince Steve to stay on as our general counsel for even longer,
but he said next year is the right time for him to try something
different," Mr. Dimon said in a statement.
From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cutler was director of enforcement of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and led investigations of
financial-reporting matters including Enron and WorldCom.
Ms. Friedman joined J.P. Morgan three years ago from law firm
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where she worked with the bank for
more than a year on matters ranging from mortgage-backed securities
to its purchase of the banking operations of Washington Mutual, the
bank said.
"Steve recruited Stacey to our firm and highly recommended her
to me and our board as a great successor," Mr. Dimon said in the
statement.
Ms. Friedman has led the bank's continuing litigation regarding
Washington Mutual, people familiar with the matter said. The bank
in early June won a legal battle in its effort to avoid billions of
dollars in potential liabilities from its purchase of Washington
Mutual Inc.'s banking operations during the financial crisis.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
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