Union Bank announced that senior banking industry attorney Michael F. Coyne will join the company as senior executive vice president and general counsel for the bank and its holding company, UnionBanCal. Coyne succeeds retiring senior executive vice president and general counsel Morris W. Hirsch.

Coyne, who will be based in San Francisco, will serve on The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s (BTMU) Americas Holdings Executive Committee, the primary policy making group for BTMU operations in the Americas. He will also serve as general counsel of MUFG Americas Holdings, BTMU Americas Holdings and BTMU’s Headquarters for the Americas, functioning as the senior legal officer for BTMU’s operations in the Americas, including Union Bank.

As general counsel, Coyne’s responsibilities will include legal support for UnionBanCal’s board of directors; oversight of all corporate litigation and government affairs functions; legal oversight of mergers and acquisitions, regulatory matters, securities and credit transactions; and all of the bank’s internal and external legal support. He will report to Masashi Oka in Mr. Oka’s capacities as BTMU’s CEO for the Americas and Union Bank’s president and CEO.

“Mike is a seasoned counselor with a deep knowledge of the financial services industry,” said Oka. “His 30 years of experience and insight as a legal advisor provide us precisely the global skill set we were seeking to help us advance Union Bank’s and BTMU’s growth across the Americas.”

Prior to joining Union Bank, Coyne had a highly successful 21-year career at JPMorgan Chase in New York, most recently as senior vice president, associate general counsel and co-head of litigation. From 1992 to 2004, he was a senior litigation staff attorney. In 2004, he was appointed senior vice president, associate general counsel and co-head of investment banking litigation. In 2010, he became co-head of litigation, responsible for all of litigation and governmental investigation matters affecting the bank’s businesses worldwide.