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The top corporate lawyer at Hewlett-Packard has joined Apple.

Charles Charnas, deputy general counsel at HP, is the first big hire by Apple's new general counsel, Daniel Cooperman. He'll head the corporate department, a position that has been vacant for several years.

"He's been known as one of the high-profile heavy hitter corporate lawyers in Silicon Valley for many years," said Anna Marie Armstrong, a legal recruiter for Mlegal in San Francisco. "It seems like Apple's at a point where they want to hire really senior experienced lawyers for their in-house department."

Charnas stepped up as acting general counsel during HP's pretexting scandal, after GC Ann Baskins resigned in fall 2006. He held that position until the company went outside to hire Michael Holston, a Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner, who assumed the GC job in February 2007.

An 18-year veteran of HP, Charnas became head of the company's corporate, securities and mergers and acquisitions section in 1999. He also was the company's assistant secretary.

"HP thanks Charles for his many years of service to the company and wishes him well in his future endeavor," wrote Ryan Donovan, an HP spokesman, in an e-mail.

During his tenure as head of corporate, Charnas managed huge, sometimes contentious deals, for HP, like the $4.5 billion purchase of Mercury Interactive in 2006. He was also in charge of corporate during HP's fight to buy Compaq for $25 billion in 2001.

Apple representatives did not return phone calls and e-mail messages, but observers said it's a good move for the Cupertino, Calif.-based maker of computers, iPods and iPhones.

"I think it's a strong addition for Apple," said Jeffery Fromm, former head of intellectual property at HP. "He's managed significant legal problems before and has done very well."

Apple's legal department has gone through turbulent times. Former Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen left the company in May 2006, and the SEC filed civil charges against her in connection with stock option backdating last April. Her lawyers have argued that she did not break the law.

Heinen's replacment, Donald Rosenberg, left after less than a year.

Heinen and other lawyers handled corporate matters, but there had been no official head of corporate law since Michael Wyatt left the Apple in 2000.

Aside from his legal skills, Charnas can also handle the guitar -- a video on YouTube shows him playing a song at a retirement party for HP CFO Bob Wayman, who left the company at the end of 2006.

Charnas couldn't be reached for comment. He sent a message from his Apple iPhone that he was traveling this week.

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