Disney's Lawyer Warns of 'Hard Choices' as Legal Department Prepares for Radical Overhaul

Disney's top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, is bracing employees for 'hard choices' ahead as the company mulls layoffs and overhauls its legal department.

Gutierrez sent a memo to staff warning that the legal and government affairs division would become 'a much smaller organization' due to technological changes in how work gets done. The current team of nearly 1,000 worldwide will be reshaped as Disney evaluates labor reductions across the company to cut costs and invest for growth.

The restructuring process, dubbed LGA 2.0, aims to transform the division's structure, services delivery, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and technology use. Gutierrez stated that 'the professions inside LGA are being reshaped by technology,' including legal, government relations, operations, and others. He emphasized the department will explore automating certain workflows using latest technologies, self-service models, alternative providers, shared services, and outsourcing.

The company's CFO, Hugh Johnston, recently highlighted Disney's focus on reducing costs, including labor and selling, general and administrative expenses. The entertainment giant incurred $180 million in severance costs during the first nine months of fiscal 2026. Gutierrez joined Disney from Spotify in 2021 under former CEO Bob Chapek but remained after Chapek was replaced by Bob Iger.