A veteran Meta Platforms executive has been brought into Apple Inc.'s legal department to lead its litigation function, a move that expands the company's in-house counsel roster as it contends with a widening set of legal disputes.
Scott Tucker, who spent years as a deputy general counsel and led litigation efforts at Meta, has been brought on board by the company, according to people familiar with the situation. The appointment places Tucker alongside Jennifer Newstead, who stepped into the general counsel role at Apple and drew on a colleague she had worked with closely during her tenure at the social media company.
According to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity given that the appointment has yet to be announced publicly, Tucker is set to take on a newly established role at Apple — vice president of global litigation and financial services — a position that will carry responsibility for the company's commercial and patent litigation operations around the world. Oversight of legal matters tied to the company's financial products will also fall within his remit.
Under the new arrangement, Heather Grenier — who holds the vice president role overseeing commercial and competition litigation at Apple — would shift her reporting line away from Newstead and toward Tucker, placing her one tier down within the company's structure. Grenier is set to keep a place within Newstead's legal leadership structure.
Before joining Meta, Tucker had built a background in senior legal work at Morgan Stanley — a foundation that now informs the financial services portfolio he oversees in his current post. His appointment as Apple's head of legal affairs came in March, following six years in the equivalent role at Meta.
Andeer, a long-serving Apple vice president whose portfolio has covered both regulatory and product-related legal work, is taking on a broader set of responsibilities within the company's legal function. Responsibility for international legal affairs, along with work tied to child safety on digital platforms, cybersecurity, and law enforcement, is moving under his purview.
Neither Apple nor Meta made any statement available through their respective communications teams. These adjustments are folded into a wider restructuring that Newstead leads across legal and government affairs.
Nate Gatten, who previously held an executive post at American Airlines Group Inc., has taken on the role of vice president of government affairs at Apple. Separate government affairs leads were brought on to oversee distinct international regions on behalf of the organisation.
Following the departures of Lisa Jackson, who had overseen environmental, policy and social initiatives, and longtime legal chief Kate Adams, Newstead took on oversight of both the legal and government affairs functions at Apple. Cook, who previously held the chief executive post and now chairs the company's board, has stepped into an active part in managing its relationships with government.
On multiple legal fronts, Apple faces proceedings that span a broad federal antitrust action, an ongoing dispute with Epic Games Inc. over how the App Store operates, and separate cases tied to privacy concerns and delays affecting Siri functionality. Billions of dollars in court-ordered payments and negotiated settlements have accumulated against the iPhone maker over recent years, with antitrust and regulatory bodies on both sides of the Atlantic targeting practices that sit at the core of how the company operates.
Internally, a number of Apple's top executives have expressed the view that the company's courtroom record — App Store disputes in particular — has fallen short of what they expected. Following a run of adverse rulings and regulatory decisions, Apple revised both the fee structures it charges developers and the terms governing when those charges take effect.
Revenue growth tied to Apple's services arm — which has functioned as a primary engine of financial expansion over recent years — stands to be meaningfully slowed by the proposed adjustments.
Overseeing Apple's legal affairs involves a broad range of responsibilities that call for specialised knowledge and an ability to navigate intricate, often competing demands. Lawsuit filings against the Cupertino-based technology company span an unusually broad spectrum, from personal injury claims at its retail locations to antitrust proceedings valued in the billions of dollars, placing it among the more heavily litigated corporations globally.
Grenier took on the role in 2021 at a point when Apple's legal dispute with Epic Games was about to go to trial, stepping into a position that had just been vacated and carried no shortage of complications from the outset. Two leadership changes unfolded during her time in the role — John Ternus taking over as CEO and Newstead stepping into her position.
Over the span of those weeks, a string of leadership appointments took shape under Ternus — bringing in new figures to run the App Store and oversee events, alongside changes to corporate functions covering areas such as information security and real estate. Among the other personnel moves, the executive who had led Apple Pay for years is set to leave, a new appointment will take over the mergers and acquisitions function, and the hardware engineering division is being restructured.
