Levi Strauss & Co. has appointed Hilary Krane as senior vice president and general counsel. She will join the company in January, 2006 and report to Philip A. Marineau, chief executive officer.

Ms Krane has been assistant general counsel at Price Waterhouse Coopers, LLP since 1996 and was made a partner in 2000. She started at Price Waterhouse as a litigation attorney in 1994. In her most recent role, she advised the company’s leadership on legal matters and strategic initiatives. She also provided counsel to the firm and its partners with respect to client business on a broad range of legal issues including corporate governance, regulatory matters, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, international commercial transactions and risk management.

Prior to joining PwC, Ms Krane spent four years as a litigation associate at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, where she focused on commercial litigation, and one year as a law clerk for United States District Judge Milton I. Shadur.