Mouse House counsel exits
Legal eagle will stay on as a consultant
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Meisinger, 60, will remain a Mouse House consultant following what Disney termed his retirement, which is effective within 30 days.
"I will always count my years as Disney's chief legal officer as among the most rewarding and productive of my career and look forward to continuing my association with the company as an outside consultant," Meisinger said.
Disney said head Mouseketeer Michael Eisner and prexy Robert Iger accepted Meisinger's exit from his post with regret.
"Michael and I are grateful for Lou's contributions and friendship over the years," Iger said. "As one of the industry's most respected attorneys, he's done a tremendous job overseeing a global legal team that adeptly handles the complex issues and challenges that confront (Disney)."
An announcement on Meisinger's successor as Disney general counsel is expected soon.
Meisinger is one of a stream of execs who have left Disney. His predecessor, Sandy Litvack, moved into the vice chairman job after Meisinger arrived. Although Litvack was never viewed as a successor to Eisner, 66, was considered a trusted confidante. He left Disney at the end of 2000 and recently joined litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges.
Meisinger apparently never enjoyed the same closeness to Eisner that Litvack did, but he continued the company's famously aggressive litigation strategy. Recent high-profile cases have included a claim that Disney stole the idea for a sports complex, which resulted in a jury verdict against Disney and a settlement on appeal, and the long-running case involving license fees on Winnie the Pooh.
Meisinger plans to rejoin former partners Richard Troop and Robert Wynne, the co-prexy and chief operating officer at Sony until December 1999, in building an institutional entertainment and media practice at L.A. law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
Meisinger joined Disney in July 1998 after 23 years as a name partner at prominent entertainment firm Hill, Wynne, Troop & Meisinger. Even after he became general counsel, he personally handled the biggest legal battle of his Mouse tenure -- Jeffrey Katzenberg's lawsuit over monetary terms of his exit from Disney. The case, ultimately settled, was viewed as a loss for the Mouse House.
