David Howard’s career has involved helping clients successfully navigate some of their most important legal challenges. A litigator, white collar defense lawyer, and former federal prosecutor, David served for almost a decade as corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft’s Corporate External and Legal Affairs Department. In that role, he was the company’s chief litigator and led the company’s litigation, corporate compliance, and competition law teams worldwide. David is a trusted advisor to boards and senior corporate executives.
As the leader of Microsoft’s Litigation, Competition Law, and Compliance Group, David supervised all litigation for the company, including patent, privacy, antitrust, and class action cases. He was also responsible for the company’s legal compliance program, supervised its internal investigations throughout the world, and oversaw antitrust regulatory investigations, including acquisition clearance matters, in the United States, Europe, China, South Korea, and elsewhere.
David began his legal career as a junior associate at another large law firm after a judicial clerkship. He then became part of a White House legal team responding to the various Iran/Contra investigations. After completing his work in Washington, DC, David became an Assistant US Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and prosecuted some of the largest, most complex fraud and corruption cases ever brought in the district. He later co-chaired the white collar and securities litigation group at that other firm, where he represented major companies and individuals in complex investigations and enforcement matters, such as the Enron case.
David is an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University Law School, where he teaches both trial advocacy and a course he developed on “White Collar Crime and Corporate Scandals.”
Member, Compliance Editorial Advisory Board, Law360 (2024)
Outstanding In-House Counsel (Microsoft), Benchmark Litigation (2016)