$81.1 billion UnitedHealth Group has named Christopher Walsh and Mitchell Zamoff to the joint position of executive vice president and general counsel, effective immediately. Walsh and Zamoff have shared the duties of the job on an interim basis since January.

Zamoff will take lead responsibility for regulatory and governmental matters, compliance, and litigation. Walsh is responsible primarily for Securities and Exchange Commission compliance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, employment, and capital markets. They co-chair the Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer’s legal department.

Walsh joined UnitedHealth Group’s corporate legal department in 2007. Previously, he was a partner at the law firm Hogan & Hartson, where he represented publicly and privately held companies in a variety of matters, including in the areas of securities, corporate finance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions.

Zamoff, prior to joining UnitedHealthcare in March 2008, was also a partner at Hogan & Hartson. He served as a director of the Litigation Practice Group and Deputy Chair of the firm’s White Collar and Government Investigations Group, representing clients primarily in the health care and insurance sectors. From 1996 to 2000, Zamoff was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Philadelphia.