HP Names Mike Holston as General Counsel

Hewlett-Packard (HP) appointed as its new general counsel the lawyer it hired last year to conduct an independent investigation into the spying scandal at the company.

Mike Holston, a partner at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, will take on the new position starting Feb. 22. He succeeds Ann Baskins, who resigned in September.

HP has been embroiled in a scandal regarding the tactics it used to investigate an internal information leak. The company is being investigated for approving illegal methods used to obtain information about journalists and employees.

Holston revealed the results of his investigations into HP’s probe at a press conference in September. He named HP executives who approved or were present at meetings that detailed the tactics company officials and third parties were using to investigate the information leak.

He also disclosed plans at HP to use false information to lure reporters into identifying the leak. Holston said Mark Hurd, chairman and CEO of HP, approved that plan. Holston, who has served as external counsel at HP for more than 10 years, will report directly to Hurd in his new role.

Holston replaces Baskins, who was subpoenaed for her role in the internal probe but refused to answer questions in front of a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee investigating the matter.

Last month, the first conviction in the case was made when a private investigator pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining information about reporters and HP workers on HP’s behalf. Others, including former HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and former HP legal counsel Kevin Hunsaker, still face charges.

— Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service (Dublin Bureau)

Related Links:

• HP Spying Scandal
• HP General Counsel Ann Baskins Quits
• Baskins Pleads 5th as Politicos Blast HP
• HP Lawyer Breaks Down Leak Probe

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