GM Urged to Dump Top Lawyer in Recall Scandal

A Senate subcommittee probing General Motors Co.'s belated ignition switch recall suggests the company fire its top attorney for failing to alert the GM board to possible punitive damages arising from crashes caused by a defective ignition switch.

General Counsel Michael Millikin acknowledged to the panel that he did not relay four separate warnings from lower-level lawyers between October 2010 and April 2013.

Panel Chair Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) declared that "the failure of this legal department is stunning" and expressed amazement that Millikin still had his job.

CEO Mary Barra defended Millikin as a man of high integrity and the "right person" for her team. She said his staff failed to explain the scale of the switch problem and didn't advise him of warnings from external lawyers.

In a statement, Milliken acknowledged that "we had lawyers at GM who didn't do their jobs," adding that "those lawyers are no longer with the company."