CBS general counsel Louis Briskman to retire

Louis J. Briskman plans to retire next month from his role as general counsel of CBS Corp.

A mainstay of the broadcasting company, Briskman first joined CBS in 1975 when it was Westinghouse Electric Corp. He has served as the top lawyer for four public corporations, including Aetna Inc., Group W (the broadcasting subsidiary of Westinghouse) and Westinghouse Electric.

After his stint at Aetna, Briskman rejoined CBS in September 2005, just four months before the CBS breakup with Viacom Inc. At that point, CBS became a separate publicly traded company.

CBS said a successor would soon be named.

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“He has the trust, admiration and respect of the entire legal community and everyone here at CBS who have had the pleasure of working with him,” CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement. “We wish him well as he moves on to his next chapter.”

Briskman is a 1970 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and a 1973 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. He will retire from CBS on Dec. 31.

In recent months, CBS stock has been on a tear. It is just off its 52-week high, closing Monday at $58.86 a share, up 12 cents.

Last week, CBS reported a 26% jump in profit for the July-September fiscal quarter.

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News Corp., Wall Street Journal owner, reports 3% lower revenueFollow Meg James on Twitter: @MegJamesLAT