Twitter Inc. has appointed former Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom associate Adeeb Sahar as its new global head of commercial, corporate, and international law as the social media platform faces an increasing number of legal liabilities. This move comes after Twitter’s former legal chief filed a lawsuit against the company. Sahar, who had spent almost four years working in Skadden’s Palo Alto office after joining the law firm as a summer associate in 2018, was part of a team of lawyers that advised Elon Musk on his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year.
Sahar’s appointment follows Musk’s takeover of Twitter and the company’s chaotic restructuring, which aimed to increase revenue by charging subscribers. Skadden and Sahar have not commented on the appointment, and Twitter’s press contact email sent an auto-response message with a poop emoji. Sahar is taking over from Jerusha Herman Roybal, who announced her resignation from Twitter’s legal team via tweet in mid-February. Herman Roybal was recently appointed as a lead director and associate general counsel for Trade Desk Inc., a software and technology company.
In recent months, Christian Dowell, Twitter’s former head of product legal, has also left the company. Dowell, who joined Twitter in 2020 after working at Yahoo Inc., was part of a group of Twitter lawyers who reported directly to Musk. The group, which included Herman Roybal and other mid-level legal roles, formed the de facto top of Twitter’s internal legal group after a leadership succession plan was scrapped.
Many former Twitter lawyers have found new roles at other companies quickly. In February, social media rival TikTok Inc. hired two former Twitter litigators, while Ancestry.com LLC added ex-deputy general counsel Tina Hwang as its chief privacy officer and vice president of legal.
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Before becoming a lawyer, Sahar was the co-founder and CEO of a venture-backed publishing startup called Inklo. He worked on Inklo while attending Columbia Law School. He had co-founded the startup with J.P. Lawrence, a former Stanford classmate who has been a patent technical adviser for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Twitter’s legal team was once known as “Tweagle” by those who worked there. In her departure tweet, Herman Roybal praised her former colleagues, stating that she was “proud to have worked alongside some of the most talented, dedicated, ethical, kind, and bright people in the industry.”
As Twitter continues to face legal challenges, including the recent lawsuit filed by its former legal chief, the appointment of Sahar may bring stability to the company’s legal team. His experience advising on Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter may prove useful as the company navigates a difficult period.