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Broadcom Corp.'s last general counsel, David Dull, was a casualty of the company's mountainous stock option backdating mess.

Now, the Irvine, Calif., semiconductor company is turning to Arthur Chong, a veteran San Francisco Bay Area in-house lawyer who has handled corporate turpitude in the past.

Chong, who was announced as the new GC on Friday, was deputy general counsel at San Francisco's McKesson Corp. while the health care giant weathered a huge accounting scandal that consumed most of a decade, involving a company McKesson bought in 1999.

"He's dealt with very difficult issues and situations that will equip him well," said Kenton King, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who has worked with Chong in the past. "Art was [at McKesson] throughout all of that, so he's seen this situation firsthand and what it takes regain credibility and move forward."

Chong joins Broadcom from Safeco, where he served as general counsel for three years before the Seattle insurance company was acquired by Liberty Mutual earlier this year. Before that, he worked for more than 20 years at McKesson. Chong was not available for comment Monday.

In a company press release, Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor said, "Art is a highly regarded and seasoned corporate attorney with broad experience in corporate governance, M&A, finance, securities law and litigation."

As a result of backdating stock options, Broadcom made a $2.2 billion restatement last year. The SEC exacted a $12 million fine from the company in April and later charged top executives. Although former GC Dull was originally cleared by an internal investigation, he was among those charged by the SEC in May.

Dull, who is fighting charges, stepped down as GC and is currently "advising senior management on intellectual property, litigation and other strategic matters," according to a Broadcom spokesman.

Chong is said to be decisive and not afraid of speaking his mind.

"He has strong leadership, and management skills as well as being a great lawyer," said Anna Marie Armstrong, a legal recruiter with MLegal who wasn't involved in the hiring. "He's a charismatic person that gets things done."

A staunch advocate for diversity, Chong made a speech at a minority counsel conference in 2006 that has become somewhat legendary in legal circles. Chong told the crowd that he had cut a prestigious law firm out of bidding for McKesson work because of its lack of diversity.

Chong was followed on stage by Wal-Mart general counsel Thomas Mars, who, Chong and others say, told the audience: "I know who that firm is, and I am going to speak to them."

The firm turned out to be Los Angeles' Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and the story became a cautionary tale for other law firms and a rallying cry for other in-house lawyers.

"I go to meetings and people say 'Can I get a copy?'" Chong told The Recorder at the time.

At Broadcom, Chong will be dealing with what remains of the backdating mess. The company is still facing civil suits while former executives are fighting SEC and criminal charges. Broadcom is also embroiled in a number of intellectual property disputes, including with rival Qualcomm.

For big corporate matters, Chong often turned to Skadden and King, which advised when Safeco was bought by Liberty Mutual, a $6.2 billion deal that closed in September.

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