Amid the worst legal mess in its history stemming from a widespread phone-hacking scandal, News Corporation has appointed Janet Nova as interim general counsel, following the departure of Lawrence Jacobs, who stepped down from the role in June after a seven-year stint.

Nova, who has worked at the media giant for the past 14 years, formerly was deputy general counsel and senior vice president of News Corp. From 1992 to 1997, she was an associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett .

Nova assumes her new role at a time when the News Corp's popular tabloid newspaper, News of the World, is being shut down following investigations into the phone hacking of celebrities and other victims, and into alleged corruption within the Metropolitan Police.

News Corp is in the process of seeking a permanent replacement for Jacobs.

In response to the scandal, News Corp. also said it has set up an independent management and standards committee to investigate allegations of the phone hacking, which will be chaired by Lord Grabiner, a commercial lawyer who has more than 40 years of experience of high-profile litigation. "In addition he is a well-known and widely-respected figure in the banking, finance, academic and business worlds," News Corp. said in a statement.

The committee also will be "responsible for proposing and overseeing the implementation of new compliance, ethics and governance procedures at News International," according to News Corp.

The management and standards committee will report directly to Joel Klein, executive vice president and News Corp. board director, who in turn will report to Viet Dinh, an independent director and chairman of News Corp's nominating and corporate governance committee. Both men will update the News Corp.'s board of directors, which has given the committee its full support.

The media group said the committee is "authorized to cooperate fully with all relevant investigations and inquiries in the News of the World phone hacking case, police payments and all other related issues across News International, as well as conducting its own inquiries where appropriate."