Fox Corporation on Friday said it had severed ties with its top lawyer, Viet Dinh, in a significant shakeup to its corporate ranks in the aftermath of the company's historic $787 million settlement with voting technology company Dominion Voting Systems.
"We appreciate Viet's many contributions and service to FOX as both a board member of 21st Century Fox and in his role over the last five years as a valued member of FOX's leadership team," said Lachlan Murdoch, chief executive of Fox Corporation, in a statement. "We are grateful that he will continue to serve FOX as Special Advisor where we will benefit from his counsel."
Dinh's departure comes after he was widely criticized for his handling of Dominion's monster defamation lawsuit against Fox News over its airing of lies about the 2020 election.
Legal scholars were surprised that Fox Corporation had allowed the lawsuit to get so close to a trial, settling only in the final moments after a jury was seated. Since Fox Corporation did not settle the lawsuit before it entered more mature stages, the company was forced to participate in the discovery process, which produced embarrassing messages from the Murdoch family, which controls Fox, and other senior executives and hosts.
Dinh is the latest senior executive to depart after the historic Dominion settlement. Raj Shah, a senior communications executive, exited the company earlier this year.
