A longtime lawyer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has split with the Seattle-based organization, whose co-chairs are currently in the midst of a highly publicized divorce, joining another nonprofit group as chief legal officer.

Ruth Atherton left her post as deputy general counsel at the Gates Foundation this month and has taken over as the first ever top lawyer for The Commons Project Foundation in New York. The group is headquartered in Switzerland and launched in 2019 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.