Nexstar hires new general counsel

Nasdaq-listed Nexstar Media Group has recruited Rachel Morgan to become executive vice president and general counsel, effective June 20.

Morgan is joining Nexstar from AT&T, where she has worked for almost a decade. During her time with the telecoms company, she has held roles of increasing responsibility in its corporate legal department, most recently as vice president and associate general counsel for corporate and labor and employment litigation for AT&T Services.

In her previous role at AT&T, Morgan was responsible for the company’s shareholder engagement issues, managed the corporate secretary team and helped manage the operations of its legal department. She has also led legal teams supporting AT&T’s consumer, customer experience, corporate strategy, digital, global marketing, global connection management, technology operations, network, technology development, information technology, automation, privacy and compliance organizations.

According to her LinkedIn profile, before joining AT&T Morgan was an attorney with law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius and previously Fulbright & Jaworski, now Norton Rose Fulbright.

In her new role, Morgan will report to Nexstar chair and CEO Perry Sook. She will be responsible for the long-term legal strategy and day-to-day management of the company’s legal affairs and those of its affiliates, advising M&A, joint ventures and other strategic partnerships in addition to overseeing the company’s regulatory filings, commercial contracts, technology transactions and privacy, data security, labor, employment, intellectual property, real estate and litigation matters.

Morgan will succeed Elizabeth Ryder as general counsel. Ryder has been in the role since 2009 and has also been corporate secretary since 2013. Before joining Nexstar she was vice president for legal affairs at First Broadcasting Operating, and before that she was counsel at law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath. Ryder will continue to be secretary to Nexstar’s board.

Sook says in a statement: ‘We are grateful to Elizabeth for her invaluable contributions during a time of tremendous growth for Nexstar. Her expertise in guiding the company’s legal affairs related to [M&A] and regulatory matters has been enormously helpful.

‘We are very pleased to have attracted someone of Rachel’s caliber as our next general counsel. She is a leader – smart, articulate and creative – and her depth of experience in corporate strategy and legal operations make her an ideal addition to Nexstar’s executive team. She understands the rapidly changing media environment and has developed broad expertise in a variety of legal matters, digital operations and technology.’

Ryder did not respond immediately to a request for comment.