WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has found his permanent general counsel, naming Thomas M. Johnson, Jr. to the role. Johnson will join the staff next week, replacing Acting General Counsel Nick Degani, who will once again serve as senior counsel in Pai’s office.

Johnson comes to the FCC after being deputy solicitor general for West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. He also previously worked for the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and as a law clerk for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Office of General Counsel serves as the chief legal advisor to the commission and its various bureaus and officers. The office represents the commission in litigation, recommends decisions in adjudicatory matters before the commission, assists the commission in decision-making and performs legal functions for internal and other administrative matters.