Meta hires Microsoft exec, former Trump deputy as chief legal officer
Meta He said he hired the former on Tuesday Microsoft Legal executive Curtis Joseph Mahoney will be chief legal officer.
Mahoney will replace Meta’s previous lead attorney, Jennifer Newstead, who left Meta in December and announced in March that she would become Apple’s general counsel.
He joins Meta at a time when the company is facing a wave of child safety-related lawsuits across the country. This includes an ongoing lawsuit in New Mexico, where the state attorney general alleges Meta failed to protect children from sexual exploitation and human trafficking on its apps like Facebook and Instagram.
“CJ brings world-class legal expertise, a passion for cutting-edge technology, and a deep understanding of the global regulatory challenges facing our industry,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. he said. “I look forward to working with him to advance Meta’s mission of building the future of human connection.”
FILE PHOTO: State Department legal counsel nominee CJ Mahoney testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Building on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Mahoney most recently served as corporate vice president and general counsel of product, service and market entry law at Microsoft. He was previously deputy U.S. trade representative during President Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House.
He joined Microsoft in 2021 as deputy general counsel, focusing on commerce and the company’s Azure cloud business. Shortly after joining, he represented Microsoft at a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Trade Ways and Means, where he spoke about the company’s initiatives in Africa. Mahoney became Microsoft’s general counsel in 2025, leading attorneys, paralegals and business professionals working in engineering, sales and marketing.
“I am excited to join Meta, which is pioneering AI innovation and continuing to connect people around the world,” Mahoney said in a statement. “I am grateful for the trust Mark and the Board have placed in me as we close an incredible chapter at Microsoft and begin a new chapter at Meta.”
Microsoft declined to comment on succession planning following Mahoney’s departure.
First the axiom reported About Meta’s new legal hire.
— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed reporting.
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