U.S. Soccer hires NASCAR general counsel Karen Leetzow as its new chief legal officer
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Aug 2, 2020
Leetzow spent 20 years at NASCAR where she most recently served as its senior vice president and general counsel, directing the day-to-day operations of a 21-person legal department and five-person risk management team. She will begin her new position in Chicago.
“Karen brings a vast amount of expertise and broad legal background to U.S. Soccer, and she’ll immediately be a valuable addition to our team,” said Wilson. “She has a strategic mindset and a tremendous work ethic, and I’m confident her presence and skillset will further strengthen the foundation of our organization.”
Leetzow succeeds Lydia Wahlke, who stepped down in May in the fallout over the controversy over U.S. Soccer's legal filings in the pay discrimination suit filed by members of the U.S. women's national team. U.S. Soccer was awarded partial summary judgment. Wahlke is now a U.S. Soccer consultant.
Fluent in German, Leetzow lives in Chicago with her husband Brett Scharback, who has been general counsel for the Chicago Cubs since 2018 -- the same position Wahlke held at the Cubs before joining U.S. Soccer in 2017.
2 comments about "U.S. Soccer hires NASCAR general counsel Karen Leetzow as its new chief legal officer".
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NASCAR....brilliant!
Wow, NASCAR, and then the cubs- from match-box cars to "pelota," (baseball) ...Hey, maybe she does know "something" about fussball after all, and I will stick my neck out and say this is because she is bilingual English/German, that she is probably at least cognizant of the sport. So good luck, Counselor Leetzow!!!