The former general counsel of General Motors Co. is fending off a subpoena to testify in the first bellwether trial over the ignition switch defect that prompted recalls of 
2.6 million cars and trucks last year.

Michael Millikin, who retired from GM this year, was deposed for in August in preparation for the trial, which begins Jan. 11 in federal district court in New York. Plaintiffs lawyers have filed a trial subpoena for his testimony in court.