Google named a new top lawyer on Tuesday, appointing a 14-year veteran of the company, Halimah DeLaine Prado, as its new general counsel.
Delaine Prado, who previously ran Google’s product legal team, is stepping into the new job at a critical time for company. The search giant is fending off multiple antitrust investigations from governments around the world, and has been rocked by complaints from employees who have alleged Google has failed to take allegations of racism and sexism at the company seriously enough.
The new appointment also follows a scandal involving David Drummond, the chief legal officer of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, who left earlier this year. Drummond’s departure came after romantic liaisons with subordinates, and complaints from employees that senior men at the company enjoyed impunity when it came to inappropriate behavior.
In her new role, Delaine Prado will report to Google’s SVP of global affairs, Kent Walker, an influential lawyer who has played a key role in guiding the company’s political and legal response to the numerous challenges it is facing.
Delaine Prado, a graduate of Yale and Georgetown law school, will also become one of a relative handful of Black women to occupy the role of general counsel at a Fortune 500 company. Others include Rhonda Ferguson of Union Pacific and Deneen Donnley of Con Edison. An organization representing Black corporate lawyers say its goal is to have 100 general counsels at Fortune 1000 companies by 2025.
Prior to joining Google, Delaine Prado practiced media law and product liability law with Philadelphia law firms. She now lives in the Bay Area with her family.
“Google has been my home for nearly 14 years, allowing me to work on some of the most complex and important legal issues of the digital age with a world-class legal team,” said Delaine Prado in a statement.