Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, has been appointed as the company’s president and chief legal officer in a rare move that will see the lawyer take a broader role.

Mr Smith will manage employees beyond the legal division, but it’s unclear which parts of the company he will oversee.

Brad will work with me and others on the senior leadership team in the coming weeks to help us organize ourselves for success, identifying the right way to have impact on these cross-company initiatives, Nadella wrote. He will also play a bigger role in representing the company publically.

As a result, Smith’s team will assume more responsibilities over day-to-day legal matters now handled directly by Smith.

A 22-year Microsoft veteran, Mr. Smith has served as Microsoft’s general counsel since 2002, the year the company agreed to change its business practices following an antitrust court settlement and consent decree. It is the first time Vole has had a companywide president since Rick Belluzzo fled the office in 2002. Smith is at the forefront of Microsoft’s efforts to block US authorities from obtaining the data of a criminal suspect held in the company’s Irish data center facilities, famously penning an editorial in The Wall Street Journal that outlines its position.

Smith’s promotion is just the latest in a string of leadership reshuffles at the top of Microsoft’s ranks. He added that Smith will also “lead the work needed to accelerate initiatives that are important to our mission and reputation such as privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion, to start”.

In addition, he thanked Smith for his “ongoing contributions to Microsoft-I learn from you constantly and deeply value your advice”, he said.