Ann Baskins

Ann O'Neil Baskins (born August 5, 1955 in Red Bluff, California, USA) is former^[1] General Counsel for Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). Baskins was linked to the HP pretexting scandal.^[2] On September 28, 2006, following public disclosure of the matter, Baskins resigned effective immediately,^[3] hours before she was to appear as a witness before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce at which she would later invoke the Fifth Amendment to "not be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime."^[4] Baskins was never charged by California or federal authorities.

Baskins was succeeded by Charles Charnas, a member of her team, who became HP Acting General Counsel. On February 8, 2007, HP CEO Mark Hurd appointed Michael Holston as HP Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective February 22, 2007.

Career

• Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (now Reed Smith Crosby Heafey), 1980 to 1981
  • Associate
• Hewlett-Packard Company, 1982 to September 28, 2006
  • Attorney, 1982
  • Senior Attorney, 1985
  • Assistant Secretary, 1985
  • Corporate Counsel, 1986
  • Corporate Secretary, 1999 to 2006
  • Vice President, November 1999 to 2002
  • General Counsel (company's top lawyer), January 2000 to 2006
  • Senior Vice President, 2002 to 2006

Bar admissions

• State Bar of California, December 16, 1980

Other memberships

• American Bar Association
• American Corporate Counsel Association
• American Society of Corporate Secretaries
• Silicon Valley Association of General Counsels (SVAGC)

Education

• B.A., History, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA, 1977
• J.D., UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, California, USA, 1980

Awards

• California Law Business, #1 attorney in annual list of California's top 50 counsel, 2001

Personal

• Husband is Thomas C. DeFilipps, partner in law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

References

1. News release http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2006/060928a.html HP General Counsel Resigns
2. The comprehensive story of HP spying scandal along with critical discussion on involving corporate governance and ethical issues is available at Davani, Faraz (2011-08-14). "HP Pretexting Scandal by Faraz Davani". Scribd. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
3. "HP general counsel Ann Baskins resigns". BusinessWeek. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-09-28.
4. Wong, Grace (2006-09-28). "HP: Grueling day for Hurd & Dunn". CNN. Retrieved 2006-09-28.

Hafner, Katie (2006-09-29). "Hewlett Lawyer's Liability Is Unclear, Experts Say". New York Times.