The move comes straight after the departure of Apple's top lawyer Daniel Cooperman, who was replaced in September by Intel general counsel Bruce Sewell, Legal Week reports. 

Charnas was Cooperman's first big-name hire when he was recruited from Hewlett-Packard (HP) in April 2008 to head up Apple's corporate department. Previously, the role had been vacant for years. 

Charnas had been involved in Cooperman’s efforts to rebuild the corporate side of Apple's department after it had been unlevelled by the stock option backdating scandal, which led to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil charges against former Apple GC Nancy Heinen. 

Since then, various lawyers had handled corporate matters, but no official head had taken charge of corporate law since Michael Wyatt left Apple in 2000. 

As reported by Legal Week, Apple's legal department has seen quick turnover in its top positions in recent years. Heinen left the company in May 2006, and has since settled SEC charges. Heinen's replacement, Donald Rosenberg, lasted a year before Cooperman was brought in from Oracle.