Microsoft has rewarded the loyalty of its long-running general counsel Brad Smith by promoting him to be the company’s President, the first person to hold the role since 2002.

As part of his expanded role, Smith will also take the title of Chief Legal Officer at Microsoft, which is apparently an upgrade from his former role.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella put out an internal memo that has since been leaked to the media, saying that Smith’s team will assume more legal responsibilities so that Smith himself can concentrate on matters of policy.

“Brad has long had a broad role at the company and now I’m asking him to lead more new initiatives working closely with his peers on the Senior Leadership Team,” the CEO said. “I’ll look to Brad to play a bigger role in strengthening our external relationships and representing the company publicly.”

Microsoft watchers will recognize Smith as a familiar face when it comes to the company’s legal wranglings. Smith is at the forefront of Microsoft’s efforts to block U.S. authorities from obtaining the data of a criminal suspect held in the company’s Irish data center facilities, famously penning an editorial in The Wall Street Journal that outlines its position.

The “old” Microsoft used to have a number of divisional presidents but slowly shifted away from that corporate structure. Now, Smith is the only person in Microsoft’s leadership team that holds the title of “president”, the first since Rick Belluzzo stepped down from the role in 2002.

Smith’s promotion is just the latest in a string of leadership reshuffles at the top of Microsoft’s ranks. Nadella, who is now well into his second year in the job, has been moving top leaders around in a bid to build the kind of corporate structure he’s looking for. The most recent change took place in June, when Terry Myserson was put in charge of the new Windows and Devices Group, while four top-ranked executives left the company.

Besides focusing on Microsoft’s legal policies, Smith will also tackle issued ranging from government surveillance, privacy and security to accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion, Nadella said in his email.

“Thank you Brad for your ongoing contributions to Microsoft — I learn from you constantly and deeply value your advice,” Nadella added. “I look forward to what you will do in the years ahead.”

Image credit: Microsoft