US media company Fox News Media has named Katherine Moran Meeks as general counsel, replacing Bernard Gugar who is stepping down from his position as GC and executive vice president of corporate development.

Meeks joins from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where she recently became a partner in its Washington DC office and practised in its litigation department, representing journalists and media companies in libel and other speech-based tort cases. At Fox News Media she will be responsible for all legal matters and report directly to CEO Suzanne Scott, as well as parent company Fox Corporation’s chief legal and policy officer Adam Ciongoli. Meeks will start her new role on 19 August.

Fox News Media operates Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and other news assets. Its combined media operations reach almost 200 million people each month.

Scott said: “We are delighted to welcome Kate to Fox News Media and look forward to her tackling the legal intricacies of the ever-evolving media landscape.”

Meeks arrives after roughly two and a half years at Gibson Dunn, having previously been an associate at Williams & Connolly. Before moving into law, Meeks spent six years as a reporter at local news outlets in New Orleans and New London.

She said: “I’m thrilled to join the most powerful and dominant news brand in the industry especially as someone who started their career in journalism.”

Gugar, meantime, steps down after three and a half years at Fox News Media, having previously been at Google as US head of industries, deal pursuit. He also had in-house roles at Harpo, and was previously a partner at McDermott Will & Emery.

He said: “My decision to step down was a difficult one, but I’m grateful to everyone at Fox News Media for an incredibly rewarding experience and wish the network nothing but continued success.”

Meek’s arrival is the latest in a recent spate of legal changes for the broader Fox Corporation. In June, Fox GC Jeff Taylor quit to join oil giant ExxonMobil. He had spent just over five years at Fox, about three of them as GC, having originally joined as chief litigation counsel. And in November last year, Ciongoli joined from Campbell Soup Company as CLO to replace Viet Dinh.

Last year Fox settled a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for Fox News’s coverage of the 2020 election.