Distilled Spirits Council appoints chief legal officer

US trade body the Distilled Spirits Council and Responsibility.org have appointed Courtney J Armour as chief legal officer and corporate secretary of both organisations.

Courtney Armour has been appointed chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Distilled Spirits Council and Responsibility.org

Armour has previously worked for law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, where she was a member of the company’s antitrust group.

Armour represented clients on competition matters in litigation, merger advocacy, product innovation and business counselling, covering both domestic and international government investigations.

She has also worked as a competition counsel secondee to Google in New York where she looked after investigations and provided counselling on product innovations and business plans, also spanning domestic and foreign governments.

Chris Swonger, Distilled Spirits Council president and CEO, said: “Courtney’s expertise in antitrust law and deep knowledge of policy issues will greatly benefit our member companies at a critical time for the industry.”

Furthermore, Lynne Omlie, who has worked as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at the Distilled Spirits Council since 1989 will move into the “key role” of senior advisor at the trade body.

Omlie will continue to oversee the Distilled Spirits Council’s Code of Responsible Practices for beverage alcohol advertising and marketing and support the code review board.

She will also work alongside Swonger and Armour to continue giving advice on important issues facing the alcohol industry.

Swonger added: “Our member companies and I cannot thank Lynne enough for her passion and dedication to the organisation and the countless contributions she has made to the spirits industry over the decades.

“I am extremely grateful for Lynne’s commitment to continue to serve in this important capacity.”