Chevron Corporation has appointed R. Hewitt Pate as vice president and general counsel. Pate, 47, will succeed and report to Chevron’s current general counsel, Charles A. James, who was named executive vice president earlier this year.

As Chevron’s chief legal officer, Pate will direct the company’s worldwide legal affairs and serve on the company’s Executive Committee. He will join the company on Aug. 3.

“Hew’s broad legal background and his proven leadership skills make him the ideal choice as general counsel,” said David J. O’Reilly, Chevron chairman and chief executive officer. “He will add tremendous value to our company.”

Pate, a long-time partner at Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C., has headed the firm’s Global Competition practice since 2005. Prior to rejoining Hunton & Williams in 2005, Pate served as the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division, responsible for energy, transportation, and other regulatory matters from 2001 to 2003. In 1999, Pate served as Ewald Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. Earlier in his career, Pate served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for former Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr., and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III.

“Having worked with Hew during my own tenure at the Justice Department, I can strongly attest to his superior legal acumen and personal integrity,” said James. “He is one of our nation’s most outstanding lawyers, with a proven track record of handling complex legal and policy issues.”

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