Legal eagle to fill Lee’s role at JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase on Monday appointed its top lawyer, Steve Cutler, to fill the vice chairman position left empty by the death of Jimmy Lee last month. The move is indicative of the bank’s increasing focus on legal and regulatory issues.

Cutler has been the general counsel since 2007— just as the financial crisis was beginning — and has overseen some of the bank’s biggest legal headaches, from the 2012 “London Whale” fiasco in which JPMorgan lost $ 6 billion on bad trades, to the $ 13 billion settlement with the Justice Department the next year for its role in the economic collapse.

The 47yearold lawyer will be replaced by Stacey Friedman, the general counsel for JPM’s corporate and investment bank, according to a company announcement.

“In the face of enormous pressures and challenges, he has been the consummate lawyer and General Counsel— handling all that has come before him with great judgment, integrity and professionalism, and all with a relentless focus on doing what’s best for the firm,” Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO, said in a statement.