Professional services firm Spencer Stuart has added McKinsey & Company’s deputy general counsel and head of legal for the Americas, Lucy Lopez, as its new general counsel and chief legal officer.

Lopez brings almost 30 years of legal and business experience to the Chicago-based firm, which offers executive search and leadership advisory services and has worked with companies including Yahoo and Twitter to find CEOs.

"I am thrilled to start a new chapter at Spencer Stuart,” said Lopez, adding that the company “is focused on discovering and developing outstanding leaders, which is more important than ever, and I am looking forward to joining to help deliver meaningful impact to teams and organisations."

A McKinsey veteran, Lopez joined the consultancy giant in 1998 as an associate general counsel with a brief to help launch an M&A business line. She later shifted into a more corporate generalist role and worked in areas including corporate governance, contract negotiation, risk management, policy development, talent acquisition and development and COVID-19 crisis management response.

Lopez was promoted to deputy general counsel in 2010 and became head of legal for the Americas two years ago, with her role including advising the global managing partner and board of directors on governance-related issues. She also served as chair of the legal department's DE&I committee and as a member of firm's global DE&I leadership team, working on initiatives including talent recruitment, development and retention.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Lopez spent a six years as a corporate lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York, where she advised clients on cross-border transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures and project financing across Latin America.

Lopez succeeds outgoing Spencer Stuart GC Dave Rasmussen, who is retiring after 24 years at the firm. Ben Williams, chief executive officer of Spencer Stuart, described the legal and tax team built by Rasmussen as critical to the company’s success.

“We wish him the very best in his well-earned retirement," he said, adding: "We are delighted to welcome Lucy Lopez to Spencer Stuart. Her extensive legal background within professional services, experience in serving clients and helping evolving businesses grow, as well as her commitment to supporting and developing others, makes her an ideal choice for this role."

The company declined to comment on whether it had plans to grow the legal team under Lopez.