The general counsel of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will leave his post in late March.
Lewis Ferguson III joined the board in January 2004, and said in a statement that he always planned to hold the position for no longer than two years.
"As the first general counsel of the PCAOB, Lew Ferguson set a very high standard," said Acting Chairman Bill Gradison, in a statement. "Not only did he assist the board in assembling a first-class general counsel's office, but he established a culture of quality and ethics that will serve the board -- and the investors who rely on us -- for years to come."
Ferguson, 61, came to the PCAOB after 23 years with Washington law firm Williams & Connolly LLP. As a partner, he specialized in corporate, securities and tax law, and advised major corporations, boards of directors and senior executives on a wide range of issues, including substantial financial transactions and corporate governance.
In the mid-1990s, Ferguson spent five years serving as senior vice president and general counsel for Wright Medical Technology Inc., a medical device company, where he was responsible for strategic planning, financing activities, mergers and acquisitions, and all legal affairs.Ferguson did not announce where his next stop will be.
