Microsoft Alumni Network recently launched an oral history project about “the people behind the innovations that have democratized computing and changed the world.” Among the first of the company’s alumni to be featured on Microsoft Alumni Voices is William Neukom, LLB ’67, who built Microsoft’s legal department and served as the company’s lead lawyer for more than 25 years. Neukom navigated pivotal moments in the company’s formation and history, including its IPO and the landmark litigation with Apple. “Through stories of strategy, resilience, and groundbreaking decisions, Bill offers an inside look at how legal leadership shaped one of the most influential companies in the world,” according to the Alumni Voices project, which launched the project to mark Microsoft’s 50th anniversary this year. Neukom’s video is here. 

Neukom retired from Microsoft as its Executive Vice President of Law and Corporate affairs in 2002, returning to law firm K&L Gates to serve as its chair from 2003 to 2007.  Among numerous other roles on boards and with companies, he also served as Chief Executive Officer of the San Francisco Giants baseball team from 2008 through 2011. Today, he serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Justice Project, which he founded to promote the rule of law around the world. In 2022, thanks to a significant gift from the Neukom family, Stanford Law launched the Sally B. and William H. Neukom Center for the Rule of Law, which works on numerous fronts to advance accountability, just laws, open government, and accessible justice around the world.