Alphabet’s legal chief leaves company amid scrutiny

The top lawyer at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is retiring amid scrutiny of his relationships with women and a larger internal reckoning at Google over alleged workplace misconduct.

David Drummond, who has played a central role in an ongoing investigation into workplace sexual misconduct at Alphabet, will leave the company by the end of this month, according to an Alphabet securities filing. A Google spokesperson confirmed that Drummond has informed the company he will be leaving effective Jan. 31.

Last summer, Drummond acknowledged he had an affair with a former co-worker but denied many of her public allegations, chalking up her grievances to a “difficult breakup 10 years ago.”

The woman, Jennifer Blakely, published an extensive account of their relationship on Medium in August, alleging she and Drummond had an affair when she worked for him at Google. In it, she claimed that Drummond’s treatment of her and their son was “nothing short of abuse.”

Alphabet’s board of directors last year reportedly opened up an ongoing investigation into how the company has handled sexual misconduct claims, including those against Drummond.

Alphabet and Google are still grappling with the fallout from the controversial decision to pay Andy Rubin, an Android executive accused of sexual assault, $90 million when he left the company in October 2014.