Pfizer's Lawyers Play Musical Chairs in Wake of Bextra Settlement

(MoneyWatch)  Pfizer's lawyers have found themselves playing musical chairs since the $2.3 billion Bextra settlement. The general counsel's office has been stripped of part of its compliance role under a new corporate integrity agreement with the government (stemming from the Bextra scandal). More recently, senior corporate counsel Paulette Morgan left Pfizer to join Nixon Peabody as counsel. Law.com:

Nixon Peabody spokesman Brian Moynihan said Morgan's move from Pfizer is unrelated to the government's charges against the company and the subsequent settlement.

The post-Bextra compliance arrangement with the government means less work for the general counsel's office because it loses a compliance role. Legal Week:

Instead, the chief compliance officer at the world's largest drug maker will report directly to the chief executive. The move is required by Pfizer's corporate integrity agreement with the office of the inspector general of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), part of the company's civil and criminal settlement with the Department of Justice.

The change is intended to eliminate conflicts of interest, and prevent Pfizer's in-house lawyers from reviewing or editing reports required by the agreement, said Lewis Morris, chief counsel for the inspector general's office. Officials at Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment.

"The lawyers tell you whether you can do something, and compliance tells you whether you should," Morris added. "We think upper management should hear both arguments."

Of course, it's not a complete sidestep of Pfizer's lawyers. CEO Jeffrey Kindler was, after all, general counsel to Pfizer before he became its chief.

• Previously:
• Pfizer Used Docs Accused of Misconduct to Prep Geodon Submission to FDA
• Pfizer Paid for Doc's Helicopter in Off-Label Geodon Push, Suit Claims
• Pfizer Turned NAMI Into "Trojan Horse" to Push Geodon Off-Label to Kids, Suit Claims
• "Pfizer Math" Showed Lyrica Superiority Even Though Studies Never Said That, Rep Claims
• Pfizer Rep Claims Bextra Pushed on NHL's Blue Jackets
• Pfizer Rep Claims Zoloft Touted for Failed Cheerleaders; Viagra for Women
• Pfizer Rep Alleges Viagra Promoted With Unapproved Materials: "Get Those Things Cleaned Up!"
• Pfizer Stock Shrugs Off $2.3B Bextra Fine; Can Anything Deter Off-Label Promotion?
• Pfizer Rep Describes Pushing Zyvox With Flawed Data
• Pfizer's West Side Story: How "the Sharks" Sold Bextra Off-Label
• 10 Amazing Facts About Pfizer's $2.3B Bextra Settlement