Latham & Watkins welcomes former Facebook General Counsel

Latham & Watkins welcomes former Facebook General Counsel

Colin Stretch will be joining Latham & Watkins as Of Counsel in Public Company Representation and Emerging Companies Practices

Latham & Watkins LLP has recently announced the appointment of Colin Stretch as the firm's Of Counsel in its Washington, D.C. office. Stretch formally worked at Facebook Inc.'s (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) as a General Counsel from 2013-2019.

In his new role, Stretch will focus on Public Company Representation and Emerging Companies Practices. He will provide strategic counsel to clients, including pre-IPO and public companies and boards of directors, on a wide range of issues, spanning transactional, regulatory, public policy, and litigation matters across the globe.

"We are honoured to welcome such a distinguished and outstanding talent to the firm," said Daniel Lennon, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins' Washington, D.C. office. "Colin is a superb strategist with exceptional regulatory, litigation, and corporate governance experience, and he will prove an asset to clients addressing the various high-profile and complex situations that he routinely encountered at Facebook."

At Facebook, Stretch oversaw its legal and compliance functions and corporate legal affairs. During his tenure, he worked on matters ranging from litigation over the company's founding to the IPO and its aftermath; from major regulatory investigations in the US and abroad to congressional testimony relating to foreign interference in the 2016 election; from the acquisitions of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus to the implementation of major privacy legislation in Europe. He also brings experience working in both private practice and in government service.

After leaving Facebook in 2019, Stretch spent two years as Leader-in-Residence at Columbia Law and Business Schools' Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership, where he taught classes on the Role of the General Counsel in the Modern Economy and Internet Platforms: Law and Responsibility. He continues to serve as a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Columbia Business School.

"I am thrilled to join Latham's talented team, global platform, and collaborative culture that I got to know while a client," Stretch said. "I'm looking forward to using my experience and working with colleagues across disciplines to propel clients' growth and success."